Love's not all it's cracked up to be
by A Happy Coincidence
Summary: Meet Cue, your average teenage girl. She's sarcastic,she's cynical,she has trust issues... oh and she is also the Spirit of love. When the whole world thinks you are a flying naked baby, life can be tough. But when the Guardians look to you for help, well that's a different story entirely. (Rated M for later chapters)
1. Chapter 1

I always thought that life had a cruel sense of humour. From the day I was born, to the day I well... died, I always knew that somehow- with no explicit reason or cause to action – the universe would make it its job, its soul mission if you will, to screw you over in the most miserably ironic way possible. It's just the way things go.

Let me elaborate.

It's like, a traffic jam when you are already late, or a no smoking sign on your cigarette break. It's like rain on your wedding day, or a free ride when you have already paid, it's ridiculous! ...Ok so I may or may not have been quoting lyrics there, but I feel I brought my point across pretty well. Bottom line: Life will do whatever it can to kick you in the metaphorical nuts!

And the Man in the Moon just sits there, watching on. Silent as always. Not one word in over three hundred years...

I shook my head to clear it of its thoughts. I could throw myself a pity party later; after all I had eternity right? So what better way to spend my time than moping around and whinging about the neglectful Guardian while watching Friends reruns with a spoon in one hand and a tub of chocolate ice-cream in the other! I had all the time in the world for that later, but right now I had a job to do.

I straightened my back, feeling the satisfying click of my spine stretching as I stalked my target with my eyes from my perch on a single story high tree branch. The man ran a hand through his hair and sighed deeply, revealing everything he felt about his day in the one laborious breath. His eyes were drooped and sad, never raising them to look at anything higher than the sidewalk directly in front of him.

Never breaking visual contact with the man, my left hand loosened its grip on its weapon while my right reached slowly over my shoulder and behind my back, drawing one perfectly crafted wooden arrow from my fastened quiver.

Five hundred meters.

Four hundred meters.

The man continued to walk closer and closer in my direction, oblivious to the silent attacker behind the cover of tree leaves.

Three hundred meters.

I drew the bow and pulled back the string slowly until it reached its maximum tension, poised to strike at my unsuspecting target.

Two hundred meters.

Deep breath girl, focus on the task at hand. This is not the time to be distracted.

One hundred meters.

I blew a strand of hair out of my eyes, my unruly black mop fighting against the restraints of my hair tie. Hmmm, I was going to have to cut it again soon. NO shut up, focus on the task at hand god dam it! Nothing was going to make me miss this shot.

The man was so close now I could see the deep chocolate brown of his pain filled, unsuspecting eyes.

"Now or never I guess" I muttered under my breath, and released the arrow, sending it hurtling through the air at lightning speed until it collided with a deep thud into the man's chest, and shattered into thousands of pieces instantaneously.

"Bingo" I sighed softly, trying not to draw attention to myself nor the sudden attack... which in hind sight was useless, seeing as no one could physically _see_ me anyway. Perks of being invisible and all...

Fastening my bow back around myself so that the string passed over my right shoulder and across my chest, I hopped down from the tree and surveyed my handiwork. The man was crouched over on the sidewalk, his hands grasping at the newly made wound in his chest in an attempt to ebb the pain.

Now this is the part that one might expect the man to keel over dead on the side of the road, being the lone victim of a rampaging teen archer at close range. I can almost see it in the headlines now...

However, drawing your attention back to the fact that life is one big, ironic bitch, this is where things get interesting.

The man, suddenly clueless to any kind of physical or emotional trauma that he just went through, rose from the ground and began running full pelt to a woman sitting on a bench not that far over. Like some badly scripted scene from the 'Bold and the Beautiful' or any other visual junk food like it, the man proceeded to grasp the woman's face and engaged it in a passionate kiss.

"You're welcome" I mused dryly, rolling my eyes at the sickeningly sweet and to put it bluntly, _desperate _display of affection unfolding in front of me.

Not wanting my breakfast to repeat itself, I pulled my faded red hoodie up to shield my eyes and turned away ready to leave the scene.

"Happy Valentine's day" I cheered flatly to no one in particular, however hearing a soft chuckle from the direction of the tree I was perched in moments before.

Scanning the tree of all signs of life, I saw to my surprise two pale, bare feet that had not been there long. My eyes continued their journey upwards... a pair of brown jeans... a faded blue hooded sweatshirt, before settling on bright gleaming blue eyes, and a shaggy head of white hair. The boy was leaning casually against the trunk of the tree, on the same branch as me minutes before.

I rolled my eyes and the new arrival, peeling down the hood of my sweatshirt for a further inspection.

For all intensive purposed he looked the same. Same head of shaggy white hair, if a bit longer, same mischievous glint in his eyes, same lopsided smirk of a smile, same faded blue hoodie that took preference to all other clothes.

But most of all, he was the same arrogant, egotistical, narcissistic, smartass jerk as I remembered. Great.

"Hey Cupid" He said with his trademark smirk when I refused to acknowledge his presence. "it's been a while."

**So there it is, Chapter one! Woooo! I know it is a bit short but hopefully I can make it up to you guys in the next chapter! Remember to review, please and thank you! :) **


	2. Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO – Not the kind of day I planned out this morning... 

"Hey Cupid" He said with his trademark smirk, "it's been a while".

Great, just what I needed. As well as a shitty mood and public displays of affection on the list of things to ruin my day, add one cocky Winter Spirit into the mix, why not!

"Well if it isn't Frosty the Snowman, down from the Pole himself to grace us with his presence." I did a half assed bow to the boy in the tree, who only rolled his eyes at the clearly sarcastic gesture. He unfolded his arms and sat down casually on the branch, allowing his legs to dangle over the sides.

"Well it's nice to see you too Cue, what's it been, two, three years?"

"Not long enough" I muttered softly, to which my surprise he heard, the corner of his mouth curling upwards.

"You're hair's shorter" He said, frowning slightly. It was more of a statement than a question really, but true none the less. Having a love, hate relationship with my hair anyway, I finally decided to spontaneously cut the wayward tangles to a more manageable length, creating the world's shortest ponytail when it was pulled back. My new shaggy, homemade pixycut still had the tendency to fall into my eyes, but was more tolerable to the waist long mess of a previous life.

"Yeh, well people change" I said, feeling slightly self conscious under his piercing blue gaze "The hair just needed to catch up."

Jack pursed his lips for a moment, as if weighing up a decision in his head before finally nodding once and smiling approvingly. "I like it, it suits you. You can see your eyes easier."

"Well thank the heavens that it has the Boy Wonder's approval! Finally I will be able to rest easy at night! " I held my hand to my chest in a sign of mock relief then turned and began to walk away.

"Now if the only reason you came all the way out here to Bonnie Old England was to compliment my talents as a hairdresser, I best be on my way. Things to do and people to see and all that jazz so... Farewell!" I said, making a 'V' in the middle of my fingers on my right hand much like Spock, then walked down the road.

Well I would have liked to walk down the road, admittedly I only made it about five paces before Jack spoke, his voice thick with mischief.

"Nice seeing you again Cue, good to see that you have finally outgrown the _nappies_!"

I stopped in my tracks.

Oh.

Hell.

No.

Did he just? ...He did!

God will I ever outlive the embarrassment! One dude hundreds of years ago paints a stupid picture of a fat, flying baby with wings and _that's _the image that the humans choose to commercialise! Swear to God, you have one lousy picture of you that haunts you for the rest of your life! ...Well, death actually, but that's not the point! I mean, it's not as if Bunnymund is as cute and cuddly as everyone thinks, or that North is as child friendly! He carries around machetes for goodness sakes!

Why on Earth would anyone assume that Cupid is a fat, flying _baby_ anyway? It's not even practical! Babies can't even walk let alone _fly! _They can'teven speak either! They just have that made up language that sounds half way between a drunk Irishman and a wailing cat! All they do is poop and cry and cry and poop and poop when they cry and cry when they poop! And somehow in the middle of all that the humans expect it to be the Spirit of _Love_? Talk about high standards much! Most parents are impressed when their kid sticks its fingers up its nose let alone being able to hold and operate a _weapon!_

God it was so infuriating, and the thing that made it worse was that Jack knows it and is just pushing buttons!

I whirled on my heels and glared at the laughing boy in the tree which only made him laugh more.

Deciding to change my tactic I smiled as sweetly as I could back to him, trailing one finger down the string of my bow. "How about you _don't _piss off the only one of us that has a weapon hey Mr 'Nipping at your nose'?"

"Oh?" He challenged, still laughing and holding up a gnarled piece of wood in his right hand, the top of it looping round to form and abstract 'G'. "And what do you suppose this is then?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"A stick?" I said sounding bored and unimpressed, "I'm quaking in my boots let me assure you."

"It's a _Staff _Cue" He said a little too defensively. I crossed my arms over my chest still looking bored, picking at the sides of my fingernails, allowing him to make his point by trailing his 'Staff' over the branch he sat on. Small amounts of frost began to appear in its wake.

"Wow impressive..." I trailed off flatly, rolling my eyes at him once more. "But I'll take my bow over your Walking Stick any day old man."

Jack's forehead creased slightly, looking a little confused. "You're just as old as I am" he said, crossing his legs and leaning his elbows on his knees.

"Well at least I don't _look_ my age. I'd say I can see a _single_ grey hair growing though but I'd be lying. Father Time was not kind to you mate."

Jack gave a pained look of mock hurt, pretending to hide a sob behind his hands at my 'hurtful' words until his playful smile returned.

"Not that I don't enjoy our little chats ever few years or so Jack, but pray tell why are you here exactly?" I knew deep down that Jack would not make the trip out here just to 'hang out' with little old me. If he was here it was because the Guardians had spoken, assigned a mission to do with me and he had simply drawn the short straw.

I couldn't help but feel a small pang of disappointment deep down. Jack wasn't here because he cared. He was here because he was doing his job.

Jack, oblivious to the sudden sadness that flowed through me, simply leaned back and rested his hands behind his head, his stick... I mean 'staff' precariously balanced on the branch next to him.

"All business with you isn't it Cue?" He teased, "When do you have time for the pleasure?" He tilted his head in my direction and winked at me.

"Well not all of us can be the spirit of _fun _you know" I grumbled, "some of us have _actual proper jobs_ to do you know." Jacks grin only widened as he leaned back into his hands, lounging about in the tree. "Busiest day of the year my ass Cue, I've been keeping tabs on you all day and so far, including Mr Tonsils over there-" He pointed at the man still locked at the mouth with the woman on the bench in a passionate fight to suck the other person's face off. Did they not find the need to breathe? It's been like ten minutes people! "-and so far" Jack continued "you have only hit twelve people today. I would hate to see what it's like when your're really, _really_ busy!" He teased.

"So I have been a bit off my game today, so what? The world isn't going to end, civilisation as we know it isn't going to fall apart just because a few less people do 'the dance with no pants'" I quoted with my fingers. "So what, North made you fly out here to check up on me because I am behind on my daily _quota_?" My voice rose an octave on the last part defensively.

"What nerve do you of all people have to tell me how to do my job Mr 'I play with balls of snow and kids over three hundred years younger than me everyday' you pedo!" Jack frowned at my last comment, clearly unimpressed but managed to maintain control of his voice unlike my steadily rising one.

"No Cue, North sent me out here because he needs to talk to you. They _all _do. He told me to bring you back with me to the Pole." At that Jack jumped down from the tree, landing with more grace than I did on the ground not three feet away from me. He held his staff behind his head, casually draping his arms over its ends.

"Well you can tell North that I have no intensions of travelling to the Pole nor hearing yet another lecture about how I should join the Guardians and how its my soul duty and how MiM picked me for a reason crap blagh blagh blagh... I said it once and I'll say it again I'm. Not. Guardian. Materi..." I trailed off when I noticed the smile on Jacks face, the devilish look in his eyes... I did not one bit like that look. What was he up to?

He sauntered a few paces towards me, smirking all the way. "Well that's the thing Cue. North didn't tell me to _ask _you to come to the Pole..." He stopped mere inches away from me, his voice dropping to barely a whisper.

"He just told me to _bring _you."

Realisation suddenly hit me then.

No. He wouldn't _dare!_ ...Would he?

Not willing to find out and seizing the small window of opportunity I had I took off running, making it about fifty meters to the street before I felt cold arms wrap around my waist, pulling me back.

"Jack, NO!" I yelled, managing to pry his ice like fingers from my middle, elbowing him in the face in the process and knocking him off balance. Good! "Serves you right you asshat!" I yelled, glancing back quickly while running to see Jack on the floor rubbing his chin.

While continuing to run past the street I tore off my faded red hoodie, revealing my plain (if slightly dirty) t-shirt and my secret weapon in getaway plans.

Sprinting as fast as I could I unfurled my tawny black wings, erupting majestically from the slits in the back of my shirt and began to flap like crazy. Did I forget to mention the part where I have wings? Well not everything the humans say about me is a complete lie... just the parts about my weight and age and gender as it would seem... Greeeaaat!

Just as me feet started to leave the ground, the feeling of complete and utter freedom beginning to wash over me, I was abruptly pulled back down to the hard concrete, scraping my knees and elbows in the process. I looked around ready to fend off Jack again but he was nowhere to be seen. And that's when I glanced down at my feet...

What the?

No... He wouldn't ...HE DID!

There, attached to each foot was a large, solid block of _ice! _He had literally _cemented _me to the sidewalk!

Oh.

Oh he's a bastard.

"JACK!"

**Let me know what you think! Especially how I am portraying the characters so I can make changes if you feel the need that I do! Thanks guys! **


	3. Chapter Three

**CHAPTER THREE – And I did**_** what**_** in my previous life to deserve this? **

"_Jackson Overland Frost_!" I yelled, "You unfreeze my feet _right now!"_

Mustering up everything I could into one icy glare and balling my fists at my sides I was fuming at the Winter Spirit who not only ignored my hostility, but had the nerve to double over in fits of laughter on the sidewalk next to me.

"I swear to MIM Jack that if you do not release me this very second I will personally cut off your _fucking_-"

Jack cut me off my covering my mouth with the palm of his left hand, his right grasping a steady hold on my shoulder to ensure he did not fall over from laughter again.

"Language Cue" He stuttered, still laughing like a soon to be dead maniac. "There are kids around." He nodded his head towards to a woman with a pram and three small children passing right by us. He loosened his grip a little on my shoulder when they passed, removing his hand from my mouth but somehow unable to remove it from my face completely, resting it gently on my cheek.

"And you'll soon be unable to _have_ any kids if you don't let me go!" I threatened, dropping my voice to an angry whisper. "And besides, they can't even see or hear us _anyway!_ So fuck fuckedy fuck fuck _thank you_ very much!"

Jack stepped back a step, trademark smirk still plastered to his face as he looked me up and down admiring his handiwork. "Smug looking bastard" I thought to myself. Well just because I have suddenly lost the ability to move my legs, doesn't mean I can't use my _arms_. A small smile crept its way to the corner of my mouth as I suddenly loaded my bow and aimed it at Jack.

"Now Jack" I said calmly, smiling sweetly at him now that I had the upper hand. "Would you ever so kindly like to unfreeze my feet... OR, would you like to experience the agony of being shot in the heart by steel and wood from about a meter away?" I paused for a moment, letting my words sink in and allowing him to consider his options.

"What'ch gonna do Cue?" He asked smugly, "Shoot me with a love arrow? Make me fall in _love?_ I'm... how would you say it, '_Quaking in my boots_'" He retorted, throwing my words back at me and grinning from ear to ear.

Well then, two could play at that game.

"You are absolutely right Jack, these are love arrows..." I stroked the side of the loaded arrow with my index finger, gliding it along the soft contours of the wood. "However they do not make someone _fall _in love, no. Could you imagine the sort of power it would involve to physically _make_ someone fall in love? To twist their thoughts and desires into things of your design? Think about it Jack. Think about what the world would be like if _I alone_ controlled who fell in love with whom, if I was accountable." I shook my head.

Jack's eyebrows furrowed, confusion spreading on his face, so I continued.

"I am the spirit of Love Jack, I only give them the _idea_ of love, of comfort, of happiness. It's up to them what they do with it." I smiled slightly at him, gaining a shy smile in return. "Some people make outrageous declarations, other prefer to invest in a puppy or donate to charity or whatever. I just give them the keys, they drive themselves around." I said with a shrug.

Right, time to turn the tables.

"However" I said with a devilish grin that would rival his own, "That only goes for _humans_ Jack, not spirits. Aimed at you this arrow has no magical properties whatsoever... it's the same as _any other arrow._"

Jack scoffed but his eyes showed small signs of fear around the edge. "So what?" He challenged, "I can't die Cue... well not again at least."

"We can bleed though" I challenged, my eyes narrowing at him slightly. All he had to do was let me go, was that so god dam _difficult_? "We can feel pain, agony. Now I'm not saying you would drop down dead if I punctured your heart, but your skin will still be pierced, your organs ruptured, your ribs broken. You will still _feel _everything without the kindness of death. It will still take months to recover. You really want to _risk it_? Just for some stupid recon mission for _North_?"I scoffed, and then lowered my voice. "I'm not worth it Jack. Do yourself a favour and _go home_, tell North you couldn't find me, it's a win, win! It's a hell of a lot better than the alternative!."

Jack closed his eyes for a moment, having an internal debate with himself about his course of action. When they opened however, resolution was clear in both of them.

Suddenly the wind increased dramatically, the trees around us threatening to uproot and small rocks whistling through the air down the road. 'What was he _doing_?' I thought to myself. The wind was whipping my face, attacking my arms until it succeeded in its mission and ripped my bow from my hands. The weapon hurtled through the air landing with a soft thud at Jack's feet.

I glared incredulously at him, which was only returned with a triumphant gin. He bent down and picked up the bow, fastening it around himself and depositing the loose arrow in the quiver around my back.

"Well that takes care of that." He grinned cheekily. I groaned, my now empty arms slumping at my sides. Why MIM? Why me? I must have _seriously_ pissed someone off in a previous life if this was the kind of day I was having...

Seriously though, is it too much to ask for a nice relaxing day without being interrupted by a Winter menace, even if he happens to be seriously cute? Wait, _what?_ ...Forget I said that!

Still grinning and walking towards me, the string of my bow, MY bow across his chest, he tilted his face and pouted slightly. "So, are you going to come with me to the Pole like a good little girl, or will I be forced to use this?" He asked cockily, retrieving a small pouch from the pocket of his hoodie. The pouch was old looking, made of leather and had a golden string wrapped securely around the opening. Brilliant! I thought to myself. Not only do I have North and Frosty here against me, but he has Sandy's_ dreamsand_ as well!

I glared at his smug ass face for a few moments, weighing up my options. Well, weighing up my _option _really, as it would turn out. As Jack so_ kindly_ cared to mention, if I didn't come willingly, he would simply knock me out! At least if I went walking I could still maintain the _shred_ of dignity I still have...

"Fine" I sighed, slumping my shoulders slightly and admitting defeat. "Fine, I'll go with you to the stupid North Pole to see some stupid ass guardians to discuss some stupid situation that apparently requires kidnap and assault!" I said, narrowing my eyes at Jack who simply stuck his tongue out playfully. "I mean, ever heard of a frigin _telephone _anyway? This isn't the dark ages anymore Jack, you could have just called me! How's that for a _crazy_ idea? Apparently too crazy for the people whose first preference is _kidnapping_!" I fished my mobile from the pocket of my sweatshirt and scrolled through the admittedly short list of names in the contacts section. I stopped when I found the name I was looking for. "See? 'Jackass Frost', the wonders of technology, you could have just used your _phone_! Mines even got _space invaders!"_ I finished sarcastically, throwing my arms I the air out of exasperation.

"Still with all that in mind, you still go for assault." Jack simply I rolled his eyes, then was suddenly very close to me, our noses almost touching. My eyes widened at his proximity, but then my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Very slowly Jack leaned forward, his breath tickling its way past my cheek to the back of my ear, "Its only assault if you don't like it" He breathed, his face lingering dangerously close to mine for a few moments before his playful, childlike grin returned and he took a step back and started to unfreeze my now numb feet.

I raised an eyebrow at him "...Nope, I'm pretty sure that's _still _assault."

Jack only continued to stare at me with his playful gaze, finishing the melting process, then abruptly held out his right hand, subtly twisting the bag of dreamsand around in his left, changeling me to make a run for it again.

"So" He said, matter-of-factly, "To the Pole?" He raised an eyebrow at me, still expecting me to pull some sort of stunt or get away plan... but he still had my bow? I sighed and groaned loudly, reluctantly thrusting out my own hand and shaking his, sealing the deal.

"This better be god dam good" I mumbled, shaking out the pins and needles in my legs and retracting my wings back through the slits in the back of my shirt. Once they were hidden under the thin fabric I pulled my faded red sweatshirt back over my head and relished in its warm comfort.

Jack fished out another larger pouch he had concealed in his TARDIS like pocket, made of the same leather material as the one containing the dreamsand but fastened with a red string instead. 'Well at least we were travelling by SnowGlobe' I thought to myself, already cringing at the thought of the long flight with Jackass from England to the Pole.

Jack through the SnowGlobe which opened up in a brilliant burst of colour revealing the snow covered Winter Wonderland of North's Workshop. Holding his hand out for me to go through first, I rolled my eyes at Jack. "Well I guess it's never too late to at least _try _to be a gentleman hey Jack?" I teased, grumbling slightly as I walked towards the portal. The Winter Spirit just laughed, "Is that what you think I was doing? I just didn't want you making another runner." He smirked, "Plus the view is better from back here."

"Whatever" I grumbled, too tired to even acknowledge or argue about the fact that he told me very bluntly he just wanted to check out my behind.

"North better have a shit load of cookies waiting for me..." I muttered, and stepped into the portal.

**YAY! Three Chapters! The next one will be at North's Workshop and will contain the other Guardians so get pumped! Also the main story line will be revealed dun dunnn DUNNN! Why do the guardians need to see Cue? How will she react to what they have to tell her? And most importantly, how will Jack and Cue's relationship develop?! **

**Thanks for reading guys! **


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter four- Life at the Pole, aka, Hell frozen over!**

" I don't know how I ever let you talk me into this Jackass" I groaned, adjusting my eyes to the sudden blinding light reflecting off of the pure white snow that stretched as far as the eye could see.

"Well, that's probably to do with the fact that I have a gift for persuasion" jack chuffed, grinning like a fool while playing with the string of my bow absentmindedly.

I smacked him in the arm. Just because I didn't have my bow didn't mean I was defenceless, and I was sure as hell sure that I was not going to let him forget that.

Although I hated to admit it, the pole was beautiful... in that sparse, deserted, freeze to death if you stay still long enough kink of way. Stretched out towards the horizon in all directions was the majestic freedom of something that could only be described as a winter wonderland.

I could see why jack chose to live here with north. This place was heaven to him.

For me however, it was a frigid cold nightmare!  
Having lived in England for the past decade save my quick round the world trips now and then, I like to think that my body has climatised to the cold. But this was fucking ridiculous! And here I was, wearing a tattered old hooded sweatshirt and hole ridden jeans, not exactly the best outfit for arctic exploration!

North's workshop sat atop a hill not faraway, it's buildings pertruding from the ice, seamlessly becoming one with the frozen land around them. In between us and this frozen castle lay a moat like caesium with a single rope bridge, one that by definition would only be crossed by those who have a severe death wish or by those named 'Indiana jones'.

I stopped in my tracks. " there is no way I am crossing that death trap, it's like a thousand meters to the bottom of that canyon!" I shouted, looking at jack in disbelief. He seriously did not expect me to cross that right? It's missing at least half it's planks of wood for fucks sake!

Jack merely smirked and held up his staff, summoning a large gust of wind that sent him hurtling into the air. He hovered there for a while before I heard him shout " forget the fact you have wings cue? Now come on, I would like to get to norths some time this century!"

I shook my head and wrapped my arms around my torso. There was no way I was taking my sweatshirt off, it was below-freezing here. As if to prove my point I pulled up my hoodie, relishing in the slight warmth and protection it offered.

Jack seemed to notice my hesitation and flew down to my side. He frowned slightly when he realised my lips were turning a slight shade of blue and my attempts to hide my shivering were becoming pointless. Without warning he wrapped me up in a massive hug, pinning my arms between our two bodies and rubbing the small of my back with his hands.

"Well this is new..." I thought to myself,still a little confused at the sudden contact...not that I was complaining really, being crushed to jacks chest an all had its perks, but it definitely wasn't going to help warm me up in the slightest.  
That's when I Hearn the ripping sound...

From out of nowhere jack had produced a short dagger which he used to slice two large slits in the back of my sweatshirt, allowing my wings to burst from the confines of my clothing with ease.

"Better?" He asked, stepping back slightly and dropping his hands from my body.  
I smiled shyly at him, shaking the small flakes of frost from my wings and stretching them in the brilliant light.

The way my wings contrasted the snow around me was remarkable. The stunning white against my tawny black wings was quite a sight, even jack couldn't help but stare a little.  
I laughed once then sighed. " fine, lets just get this over with"

We flew the short distance to the workshops, ducking into an open window on the third floor, apparently this was the entrance that flying frost locals used.  
We landed in a large hallway with numerous doorways on wither side. The place was brilliantly crafted on the inside, as if everything from the door handles to the ceiling designs had been hand carved out of wood. Patterns of snowflakes and Christmas trees lined the walls of the impressive hallway, stretching all the way from floor to ceiling. I let out a long whistle.

" Heard about it, read about it, never actually seen it. Pain in the ass every time I tried to get past the yetties"I said, gazing in awe at the place.

Jack laughed and nodded, " I was exactly the same the first time I came here, north is pretty tight with his security, I couldn't even get one foot into this place without the yetties throwing me out again. Well before I lived here anyway. Now they let me come and go as I please."

Jack pointed to the numerous doors, leaning lazily on his staff. " we're in the east wing by the way, guest wing, so you'll probably be staying in one of these rooms tonight."  
" wait, staying? You never said anything about staying longer than a day jack"  
" we'll I never said anything about it not taking as long either" he retorted.  
"We'll how long am I suppose to stay here for! How long is this going to take-"

"A long as it needs to." A gruff voice sounded from behind me.  
I whirled on my feet, instinctively reaching for an arrow before I remembered jack still had my bow fastened around himself.

There standing before me was the likes of the Easter bunny himself.  
"We'll well well Peter rabbit, what brings you to the land of sneaking up on people and eavesdropping?" I asked. Needless to say, jack was not the only guardian who rubbed me the wrong way. It made me wonder who else we may be running into today...

"You've spent too long in the queens country cue mate, your starting to sound like one of them tea drinkers yourself. " the he turned to jack " as for you, i thought I heard your blundering footsteps jackie" bunny said, completely ignoring my previous question.

"Come on, we're all waiting for ya in the great hall, north is itching to get cracking and you two are the last to arrive." He frowned at the two of us, his gruff Australian accent present on every word.

Jack laughed, " yeh well we had some... Complications with cue here, she needed some... Persuasion..." Him and bunny exchanged a look but I tried my best to shake it off.

Get in, get it done, get out. That's how today was going to work. No complications, no arguments. Just get whatever it is you are here for done, and then leave.

Bunny began to walk back down the hallway the way he came, jack and I falling into step behind him.

W turned down so many corridors that I began to loose track of where we were all together. I never realised how BIG the workshop was, and we were only in the GUEST WING for crying out loud.

When I began to fall behind, too busily absorbed with staring at all the wonderful carvings in the walls, jack gently grabbed my hand and tugged me along after him, trying to keep us up with bunny until abruptly we stopped at a giant doorway.

The great hall was ever so aptly named. It was half the size of a football pitch easily and had wooden pillars stretching all the way to stain glass roof.  
Fuck...  
Now I could get used to a place like this!  
...no that I was going to of course, get in great it done get out remember! Just stick to the plan cue!

The pillars and walls were also carved with intricate winter designs, from snowflakes to icicles, the yetis had carved them all.

At the Middle of the great hall was an equally great table, capable of sitting about fifty people at least. Behind that at the far end was a large and very welcoming fireplace with couches and rugs set around it.

"VELCOME" a large booming Russian voice called, as north bounded over and enveloped jack in a bone crushing bear hug. Jack only laughed at norths enthusiasm and patted the man on the head while still in his arms. Once he set jack on the floor he tried to envelop me in the same hug, narrowly missing me when I evaded his gigantic arms. I wasn't doing that whole touchy feely greetings crap.

I nodded at north in a sufficient hello, earning a chuckle from north and an eye roll from jack.

" I was told you requested to see me north" I said, shoving my hands in my pockets, still glancing around the impressive room.

" yes yes" he said jollity " we get to that soon, but for now you go, reacquaint yourself with old friends!" He gestured towards the fireplace where a number of people were gathered around talking and went to go join them, dragging bunny with him in another crushing hug. It seems that North and I have very different definitions for the word 'friend'...

I recognised sandy straight away and couldn't help but smile slightly. The short little man always looked so happy, even if it had been years since I last saw him. Jack seemed to notice my smile and nudged me with his elbow.

" what's this? Cue actually looks happy among guardians!" He teased. I nudged him back and rolled my eyes. " yeh, we'll sandy has always been my favourite, you know that. And by favourite I mean least disliked."

Jack made a look of mock hurt " I thought I was your favourite guardian" he pouted " what does sandy have that I don't?"

I laughed dryly " he doesn't have such a big mouth for one." I teased, continuing to scan the crowd again.

Beside sandy was the unmistakable tooth fairy, hovering slightly off the ground consumed in a busy conversation with one of her fairies. Tooth was beautiful, there was no doubt about that, her colourful feathers seeming to shine as brightly as the sun coming through the stain glass roof. Although I never really had a close relationship with Tooth, I knew Jack did, the two of then almost inseparable after he became a guardian. Tooth was like an older sister to Jack, a best friend rather than a love interest, despite the constant attempts from North to 'set the two up'.

Speaking of North, he was still clutching onto bunny in what seemed like a very passionate tale, his arms flailing everywhere trying to emphasise his point.

My eyes fell on the two remaining people in the room who were lounging on one of the large couches.

Well that's just peachy.

April and Eve were here.

As if she could hear my thought herself, the blond haired April rose from her seated position and proceeded to strut towards jack and I. Her waist long blond hair was swaying as purposefully as her hips were and her lips were in full on pout mode. Her eyes lit up when she saw jack.

And enter slut mode...

"Jackson darling, you didn't tell me you were back" she purred, licking her lips before biting her lower one.

Jack shifted his weight next to me then returned to his usual smooth, cocky self, greeting April in the same flirtatious manor. That's when her attention turned to me.

"We'll if it isn't the loveless wonder" she sneered, before abruptly bursting into laughter " and by god what did you do to your hair! It's positively hideous! Cue darling you must really let me teach you a thing or two about how to look attractive." She laughed again, this time 'accidentally' landing her hands on jacks chest which he apparently was seemingly oblivious to. " Although, I can see how terribly hard that may be in your case. I'm just kidding of course" she added.

That was the thing about April. Everyone loved her because of how she looked. Everyone in her life loved her because she was tall and blond and physically attractive, hell everyone in her death felt the same way. She had an innocent face and bright blue eyes but because of that no one dared to look beyond them. Everyone saw the fun side of her, the mischievous side. They never saw the malice or cunning. It was like everything she said that was cruel or manipulative was automatically forgiven when she added those two last words. Just. kidding.

I did my best to smile sweetly at her before laughing flatly " You know, if you put as much effort into actually being a good person as you do being a bitch and fooling around" i gestured to her hands, still clutching at the material of jacks sweatshirt, "then maybe people will not entirely hate your guts. Oh... Just kidding." I added sweetly. The spirit of mischief narrowed her eyes at me but smiled just as forcefully as I did seeing as how jack was in the middle of us, completely oblivious to the heated glares we were exchanging.

She turned her attention back to jack " Jackson likes me, isn't that right?" She asked, leaning into jacks body until her face was inches away from his.

And what did he do? Well he sure as hell didn't push her away if that's what you were thinking! Jack, consumed by Aprils closeness was apparently unable to will any of his limbs to function to wriggle out of the sirens clutches!  
... Ok, maybe siren is a bit harsh, maybe I am just bias because of the history me and April have, maybe that if I give her a second chance I will get to know the real April, maybe we can be friends?  
I mentally slapped myself,. Like fuck that was ever going to happen... When hell freezes over maybe!  
Jack nodded his head frantically, having lost control of his vocal chords as well apparently... God was I the only person here who could actually see straight!

"We'll, this has been fun April, and as always the pleasure is all yours. But seeing as how I don't think through my penis-" I glared at jack, " I really must be on my way."  
Without even waiting for a reply from either of them, I headed towards the large wooden table and slumped into the chair next to the head of the table.  
...and that's when Eve decided to grace me with her presence!

Sitting opposite me and just a few seats down, Eve's long, straight black hair fell over her face, making it almost impossible to see her eyes or read her expression. She had ghost like pale skin and wore nothing lighter than the shade of black. Her make up- what little I could see from the curtains of her hair- was also black, her lipstick, her eye liner. Her black dress reminded me of seaweed, the way it clings damply to the edge of rocks, leaving her shoulders bare except for the intricate black ink patterns that ran up her arms and over her body, every inch of her neck down an art piece for twisted fairy tales. Her tattoos were primarily black but splotched with red and showed with almost photographic craftsmanship the deaths of characters such as Hansel and Grettle, Pinocchio, Little Red Riding Hood. Although I was sure that none of these characters were killed in the stories that humans told, Eve's tattoos told another story...

I shivered involuntarily. Eve Hallow creeped me out, there was no doubt about that.  
Just as I was getting particularly freaked out at the vivid illustration of Belle being literally ripped apart by the Beast, torn at every limb, the deep booming laughter of North snapped me back to reality.  
I made a mental note to look at Eve as little as possible until this was over.

"VELCOME, VELCOME one and all" the jolly man shouted as everyone took their place at the table, North at the head.  
April, finally detaching herself from Jack sat next to Eve and ultimately, opposite me. Oh joy! She sneered at me as she sat and kicked my foot with her heel under the table. I clenched my teeth to keep from cursing. She had to be wearing high heels didn't she!

Just as I was about to kick her back with the switchblade I kept in the pocket of my jeans, a certain white haired boy asked me a question. " Is this seat taken?" He asked, then proceeded to smile and sit when I shook my head, earning yet another high heeled kick from April. This time I couldn't hold back my response.

"God what is your fucking problem!" I shouted at her, then looked around at the now seated and startled faces of the Guardians. Of course they didn't see her kick me, so right now I looked like the psychopath who just lashed out at the 'oh so innocent' Spirit of mischief. Not exactly the way you want to make a good impression...

"Are you ok?" Jack asked, leaning towards me in an attempt to have a private conversation, "Whats up?".

"Nothing." I grumbled and scooted my chair back a little and out of range of the high heels of death.

North chose to ignore my sudden outburst and began to talk.  
"Now, I am sure that we all know why we are here" he began. 'Wrong' I thought to myself. "And I am equally sure that each and every one of you are willing to do whatever it takes for this cause." 'Wrong again' I thought and sank a little lower into my chair and began to pick at my fingernails.

North continued speaking, but I kind of tuned out. Well at least I did for a while before Jack' hand clasped around the both of mine, effectively stopping me from picking at my nails. I raided a brow at Jack silently, but he was too absorbed with what North was saying or pretending to be to look at my face, his hand however stayed wrapped around mine, his cool grip soft and soothing...  
I wriggled my hands free from his inviting grasp and sat back in my lap. I knew where this was going. This was the fifth time Jack had touched me today, for periods of times too long to be appropriate.

Glances lead to touches, touches lead to caresses which lead to feelings, which lead to kisses which lead to relationships which lead to lo-...  
'... Which lead to love.' My mind finished.

And that was one thing I told myself I would never go through again.

Jack frowned slightly when my hands left his, but smiled comfortingly at me as if he didn't take the fact that I didn't want to hold his hand personally... Which it kind of was. To distract myself from Jack I tried to tune myself back into the now heated conversation between Bunnymund and North.

"Is' been a decade since anyone has seen him mate, what makes you think he would choose now if any to make a comeback?" Bunny asked, clearly not convinced with whatever it is North had been saying.  
"Because Bunny, I can feel it... In my Belly!" I scoffed, then decided to pipe up. " so let me get this straight, you had everyone come out here, some against their will, to discuss the abnormalities of your bodily functions? That's ridiculous!"  
"Yeh, but its just that mate... Well that things never been wrong before..." Bunny added, and I could not help but notice the touch of fear that crept into his voice.

" I am telling you! Look at the globe if you do not believe!" North said, raising his arms and gesturing to the gigantic globe raised on a few steps near the other side of the gigantic room. The globe was alight with millions of tiny lights, each pulsing happily... Until one went out.

Tooth sucked in a breath and Sandy looked shocked as one by one the lights began to fade, then be extinguished all together.  
I had been a spirit long enough to know what this meant, and it was far more serious than changing the globes batteries. The lights were children, and one by one, somehow and someway, their belief was being extinguished...  
"Ok" I said, trying to at last get some answers. "So the kids aren't believing anymore, why? What's causing it?" I paused and amended my statement when I saw the faces around me, "Who's causing is?" I asked.

To my surprise, Eve was the one to speak. She was so small in her chair, looking no older than twelve years old and her hair hid her face from the world as always.

"The darkness." She said, her voice the horrid combination of one parts monotone three parts death. "The unstoppable darkness that makes the night appear to be lit. It is the product of neglect, hatred and sorrow manifested into the dark thoughts hidden in human hearts. Among men he is king, among kings he is a god, of all that you have and ever will have hidden in the shadows..."  
She stopped as abruptly as she started, leaving behind an eerie silence that no one seemed to know how to fill.

" Well that was just about the creepiest fortune cookie I have ever had..." I joked, trying to pry some useful information out of the meeting.  
"But seriously, who are you talking about? Who could possibly be scary enough to frighten all of you and dim the lights on the globe so fast?" I asked, looking at everyone at the table, all who seemed to avoid eye contact with me. Well all except April, she still managed a glare. Well at least the gal was consistent, I'll give her that!

"That's the thing Cue" Jack said from besides me, his voice growing more and more callus and cold with clear hatred. "What they fear is fear itself. Or rather, who they fear is fear himself..." His eyes narrowed and his fists clenched as realisation hit me from the last time I saw Jack. Admittedly I was only half listening anyway at the time, but Jack had mentioned a darkness that plagued the children, and seeing as how I guarded the love of not only children but adults as well, I dismissed his heroic tales.

...but he had mentioned a name. One he said was as dark and as hopeless as what it was named after...

The words came out of my mouth so quietly that I don't think I said them at all, but from their reactions and Jacks audible growl, I knew that they had heard me.

"Pitch Black." I said.

**So there it is, the next chapter! * celebratory chapter dance! Woo!***

**I apologise if not everything is correctly capitalised as I typed this on my phone while I was on the bus and was too lazy to go back through and capitalise everything properly! I hope you enjoyed it none the less, who is your favourite character so far? Hopefully the next chapter will be up in less than a week! **

**Thanks guys :) **


	5. Chapter 5

"Pitch Black."

The name hung in the air for what felt like hours, no one around the obnoxiously large table willing to speak in fear the man himself would suddenly manifest from the air, as of summoned by the fact someone said his name out loud.

It was incredible to see how merely two words could reduce the Tooth Fairy to a quivering mess near the end of the table, the great and brawny Bunnymund to pure nerves, the jolly and optimistic Santa Clause to a sorrowful old man and the Spirit of Fun to a balled up combination of anger and hatred.

How was it possible that two words could have such a large effect on them, and better yet, how was it possible that one man could do the same...

I glanced around at all of their faces. These Spirits, half of them GUARDIANS for MiM's sakes, all of them looking as scared and as fragile as the children they protect.

...Well all except for April and Eve for that matter. Eve got a strange and sadistic kick out of this sort of thing, seeing people in pain, in fear. Out of everyone in the room she was the one who couldn't contain the slight smirk creeping out from the small gap that her curtain-like hair made. She wasn't 'evil' per-say, - sure her and Pitch shared a similarity in powers, able to manipulate shadows and forge nightmares - it was just that being the Spirit of Chaos meant that certain characteristics needed to be met, and finding enjoyment out of others suffering was a big number one in Eve's enjoyment handbook. It just seemed that she went anywhere to follow chaos... or more accurately speaking, chaos followed wherever she went.

As for April, well I honestly think that she was not mentally capable to process everything that was going on, and so her usual 'I'm so much better than everyone here' smirk was plastered to her face, contrasting to the other's looks of worry.

It was Jack who finally decided to break the silence.

"Ok, so you say that Pitch is back, so what? We beat his sorry ass before and I am sure as hell keen for a chance to do it again!" He spoke with utter resolve, as if the prospect of losing to the Boogyman himself was not only not an option, but not a single though in his head as well.

"We fought him before when we had half the numbers, back with Jamie and the other kids. We fought him when we thought he killed Sandy" he gestured to the small man sitting next to him who seemed to frown and shrink at the obviously painful memories. " We fought him," Jack continued, standing up and slamming his fist on the table out of his anger, "when we only had one child believing in us, we fought him when He destroyed Easter" jack said, glancing down the table at Bunny who narrowed his eyes in remembrance. "All of that, and we still fought him. And we STILL won. What makes you think that he has the sudden advantage on us this time?" Jack raised an eyebrow at North, confusion and frustration evident in his eyes and tone.

Jack was in no way a gracious loser, and the fact that North was now

doubting their fighting abilities, doubting Jack's abilities, well that didn't sit too well with the Spirit of Fun...

"He has grown in power" North said sadly, meeting Jack's livid blue eyes with his own soft ones. "It has been but two days since he has apparently come out from hiding, two days in which children's beliefs have dropped..." He gestured back at the Globe where one by one the millions of lights were rapidly being extinguished.

"So?" I asked. "Children's beliefs come and go more times than April's clothes." I chuffed. April made way to kick me again but her leg fell short due to the fact I had moved my chair out of her reach. She glared at me so I stuck my tongue out in response. Yes, it's true, even a Spirit over three hundred years old can resort to the mental age of a six year old to prove a point! Deal with it!

"Surely all you have to do is send a few prezzies, hide a few eggs, pull a few teeth, throw a few snowballs, all the while sending them sweet dreams and bada bing bada boom, children's beliefs in the Guardians is restored. Thanks for coming, and have a nice day!" The answer was so obvious wasn't it? I mean if children just weren't believing anymore, all the Guardians had to do was make them believe again, not sit moping around a table feeling sorry for themselves. The answer to this problem was simple wasn't it? So why were they making such a big deal out of it...

As if hearing my thoughts North shook his head sadly, causing the other Guardians, exclude Jack, to look more and more disheartened.

North raised his eyes to meet mine " Is not that simple Cue... The children are not just not believing in us... They are forgetting entirely."

A few sharp intakes of breath could be heard throughout the room.

Forgetting?

I knew that children eventually must leave their childhoods behind eventually. To move on and adapt their thoughts and beliefs to accommodate their adult lives. It was natural for all kids to stop believing in Santa Clause and The Easter Bunny eventually, but even as adults they are able to look back and fondly remember the days where the world was simpler. How else we're parents supposed to pass on our stories?

But to physically forget?

"But that's not possible!" Tooth exclaimed, chattering quickly with her small fairies and looking even more shocked when their suspicions were confirmed.

Jack tensed next me me, his hands balling into fists at his side, his strong arm brushing up against mine as he sat back down in his chair and sighed deeply, his eyes refusing to look at anything other than his clasped hands in his lap.

Subconsciously my hands twitched in my own lap and the sudden urge to hold his hands in comfort crept into my mind. I fought the thoughts away. What was with me lately!

"How?" Jack asked, his question coming out as barley a whisper, I was surprised North could even hear it.

"We know not..." He sighed, "That is why you are all here... To make some sense of this whole, this, this, this..." He threw his hands in the air trying to find a word that accurately summed up the situation, but failed.

"...mess." Tooth whispered from the other end of the table, one of her small fairies nestling into her neck on her shoulder. She tried to reassure the small creature by lightly stroking it, chanting comforting words at it like the natural motherly figure she was. If I didn't know any better I would have believed her when she whispered phrases like "it will be ok", "nothing is going to harm you" and "everything is fine". It was her eyes that gave her away.

No matter how strong and reassuring her words were, the fear in her eyes showed the truth.

Everything was not fine. They knew that much.

"We'll, I'm sorry to break it to you guys, but I don't really see why I am here..." I said, glancing around at everyone's faces and raising an eyebrow. " And even if this did effect me personally, which it doesn't considering the fact that I am not nor will ever be a Guardian," My eyes flickered sideways to Jack remembering the many times he tried to persuade me to take the oath and join them, " there would still be nothing I can do. In case you didn't notice, my powers don't work on other Spirits, so an epic magical showdown between me and Pitch is out of the question. And as for the whole 'children forgetting crap', there is nothing I can really do about that either, considering I don't need kids to believe in me to do my job, only people who have experienced 'true love' can see me, so the whole fading lights thing is beyond me. Like I said, I'm sorry, but there is really noting I can do, so I best be on my way... You know, people to see, stuff to do and all that jazz..."

I pushed my chair backwards and turned to walk away from the group, trying to force away the small pang of guilt I felt for them. I pushed the thought aside, there was nothing I could do, and I owed these people nothing, so why invest in their problems when they have never once been interested in mine!

I heard soft grumbles as I crossed the room, each Guardian taking their turn to voice their thoughts of disappointment and frustration about my decision.

"Bloody typical..." Bunny grumbled,

"We'll at least she came Bunny, she did that much" Tooth whispered back defensively, which confused me to be honest.

"We will just have to keep thinking and trying" North said, trying to sound enthusiastic and jolly, but the statement came out as flat and as empty as they all felt at that moment.

" I thought she'd never leave" April jeered, and I could tell by the way she said it that her eyes were fixed on Jack.

I had almost reached the door when a certain statement by a certain someone made me stop, my hand stilling its hold around the handle to the massive mahogany door.

" I thought you were better than this" he said, his voice quiet but firm. "So much for love concuring all..."

My answering statement was just as quiet as his, and a part of me was surprised that it carried across the great room. "...love's not all its cracked up to be..." I whispered, my grip on the handle slipping slightly, until my arm fell limp at my sides, my body still facing towards the door.

"So what? Just because the going gets tough the cowedly get going? Is that how it works Cue?" Jack rose from his chair and turned to face me, his tone and piercing eyes glaring into my back. I remained silent, which apparently was the equivalent of an invitation for him to continue...

"Like it or not Cue you ARE a Guardian, you don't need some stupid oath to prove it! Manny chose YOU to protect the love of children, and adults for that matter, you are the Spirit of love for fucks sake! And although you didn't cause this mess, just sitting back and doing nothing about it makes you no better than Pitch! It makes you a coward!" His tone was so harsh it caused most of the Guardians to flinch around the tablethat I spun around to meet his heated glare with one of my own.

"I fight my own battles, there is a difference."

"Not from where I am standing there isn't" he challenged.

"Then maybe you need a change of perspective. Why don't you take a long walk off a short pier?"

"What is your problem? You act like you don't care about us at all..." His voice was smaller this time, equally confused and I think a little bit hurt. But there was something in the way he said "us", almost like he intended for it to mean "me" instead.

"We'll I'm sorry, but we couldn't all be the spirit of fun now could we?" I sneered, crossing my arms to stop me from balling my fists at my sides. "Some of us drew the short straw..."

Jack looked generally confused at this, clearly not anticipating this to be my next move.

He made a few steps towards me before stopping at the edge of the table, meeting my eyes and forcing me to hold his gaze, his voice quiet but still deadly. "What do you mean? What is so terrible about being the spirit of love? What could be so god dam horrible that you have to sit on your high horse and refuse to help us!" Jack clenched his fists at his sides, his eyes burning with what looked like betrayal and confusion.

He let out a flat laugh and smiled darkly " Honestly, I'm curious, what is so bloody bad in your life that you feel the need to drag everyone else down! That you refuse to help us!"

I stilled for a moment. Memories flashing back into my scull that my vision began to blur. I shook my head then raised my eyes to meet his again, mimicking his same dark snarl.

"What's so bad?" I said quietly, but my voice carried a trace of venom.

He wanted to know did he? Fine! I'll let him know. Just don't blame me when you get stuck in the crossfire Jack!

"Take the word of a gal who know a few hundred years or so about love ok?" I began, taking a few steps closer towards the table, my eyes never leaving Jacks face. He wanted the truth? Then he was sure as hell going to have to take it!

"You know what love does Jackass? You know what it leads to? You know what it turns hearts into?" My throat threatened to close, but I swallowed the feeling down, intent on getting my massage across.

"Jealousy. Depression. Rejection. Naivety. Desperation. Revenge. Disloyalty. Betrayal. Heartbreak. These are just a few jolly experiences that love inflicts! Sure everything is fine and dandy when two people in a million actually care about each other, but what about the rest hmmm? What about when someone DOESN'T love you back? What do you do then? Sulk around listening to emo bands all day? Cry at the bottom of the shower? Eat a fuck load of bagels? All the while developing complex self esteem issues and repressed feelings that result in one hundred per sent of people either a, drowning their sorrows in alcohol, b, begin to believe that it is an impossibility for them to ever have happiness, or my personal favourite, c, grow up to be cynical old bastards who believe that just because they can't be happy, that no one else has the right to be as well? All because you dared to have the courage to believe that there were feelings in a person that just aren't there."

I dropped my voice significantly, only just realising that my volume had been rising to the point of yelling while I was now only about three feet away from Jack.

"People think that love is the answer, that its everything they have been searching for, that one precious commodity in life that must be obtained at all costs. In fact it's the one thing in life that people believe they need in order to survive. Reality is... your lucky to survive it at all.

Love is cruel, it's controlling. Is the one thing that can push a God fearing man to steal, to kill even! You think that love wins wars? That passion fights them? No. Soldiers fight wars... only trying to clean up the mess that misplaced love in a lost cause has started..."

I ran a hand through my cropped hair, trying to calm myself. It was out of my character to talk like that, I fact it was out of character for me to be standing here right now on the verge of fighting back tears. This was a side to me that I did not show often, and for good reason. It was too personal, too private to be sharing with with my closest friends (if i in fact had any...) let alone these people, barley strangers to me.

I sighed deeply, thankful that no one had yet chosen to speak. "Your lucky Jack." I whispered. "You see the side of love that I wish I still do."

Jack simply held my gaze, his eyes holding a speckle of comfort and sincere empathy. "And how do you think that makes me feel?" I stepped closer again, our bodies a mere arms length away.

" To be the one to inflict this pain on them? To give them the ideas and false hopes of love, the insinuations that someone may dare to love them back, that lead them to the bottom of a medicine cabinet!" My voice, just barley a whisper, was course and raspy, the tears in my eyes threatening to spill. " I practically hand teenagers a loaded gun with an inscription that reads, 'you're not good enough'... You still want my job?"

Jack opened his mouth as if to say something, but I cut him off.

" Your lucky, you love your job, as for me? I don't want this. I have never wanted this! Which is why Manny must be one ironic son of a bitch. A if my love life wasn't bad enough when I was living, I have to be drowning in it in my death as well? How do I explain this in a way you'll understand...You are the Spirit of Fun, the embodiment of of a happy, carefree life, and me? ...Well I'm what you get when you cross bitter sarcasm with one too many broken hearts... So forgive me Jack, but yes. It is that bad. I've been burnt before..."

I stopped myself before I could reminisce about the past any more. A few flashbacks crashed into my mind of people and faces I have long wished to forget.

The past is just that, the PAST, something that happens and is forgotten, something that should never be repeated.

The guardians continued to look at me in a mixed state of remorse, sympathy and confusion. As for Jack, well apparently the wooden floor in front of his feet just became the most interesting thing in the world!

And then I heard clapping. A slow rhythm, followed by a flat and airy laugh. April.

"You put on a good show there Cue" she said in that sickly sweet way of hers that makes your breakfast threaten to repeat itself.

"And I must say, you almost had ME going there with the whole sob story i must say, you should be a poet!" she pretended to while tears from her face, all the while grinning like some possessed Cheshire Cat.

" But then you know, I thought to myself..." She positioned one of her perfectly crafted fingernails on her cheek, as if deep in thought, before he I've blue eyes settled on mine, narrowing ever so slightly. " Who did ever love you? Who would ever come to love the unlovable?" She drew out the last word, over exaggerating every letter, trying to faraway out the effect of the word.

I froze. Her words ringing in my head like a funeral bell.

"Unlovable".

My fists clenched and my blood began to boil which only made her smirk even more.

"Oh, just kid-" she began, however never managing to finish her sentence. In the blink of an eye, my rage consumed my actions, causing me to snatch my bow from around Jack and draw an arrow in a split second. Before April could even say the word "kidding" a silver tipped wooden arrow collided with her chest, and sank deep down into her heart.

"You have no idea." I murmured darkly, my seething eyes never leaving her fear stricken and shocked face.

That's when everything happened as if in fast forward.

The moment the arrow made contact, a sickening screech could be heard from April's mouth, causing the entire table to be thrown into uproar. Everyone rose to their feet, knocking their chairs over and stumbling as they went. Sandy and Tooth rushed over to aid the injured (the deservedly injured!) April, while Bunnymund snatched my bow, and had my hands restrained behind my back. North tried in vain to shout above the noise to try to bring some sanity back into the room. Baring in mind it was the same room a teenager was shot in the heart and was still breathing, but there you go...

So many people were talking at once I was often confused by who was speaking at all. Among the swearing and the screaming, North managed to settle everyone back down, Sand and Tooth were still tending to April, however seated either side of her. Bunny and I were the only ones standing, due to the fact that my arms were in some sort of rabbit death grip behind me. I twisted to look at Bunny's face and although he will probably deny it, I could have sworn I saw him smirk at April, if just the tiniest bit.

Aprils screams had died down a fraction, however the even more annoying sounds of whimpers and exaggerated breathing could be heard. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh come on princess, it's not that bad, your not dead are you!"

She glared at me and tried to grab me from across the table but stopped suddenly and clutched her chest. If people didn't know any better you could have sworn she was dying the way she was carrying on.

"It's just a flesh wound" I said, earning yet another death glare.

" You shot me in the HEART you bitch!" She screeched.

"Yeh, and I could of shot you in the face, so you should be thankful!"

"We'll that must explain you own face then wouldn't it Cue, you work from experience is that it?"

"Trust me, I would have been doing you a favour!"

April opened her mouth to say something else but was cut off by North.

"Enough, both of you" he said in his thick Russian accent. "Cue right, you are not dying, in fact you will heal faster than people, being a spirit, so that plus side." He sent a comforting smile over to April and motioned for Sandy and Tooth to escort her to her room. Eve followed them, smiling darkly at the scent that just unfolded. Yep, she was definitely a creep that one...

A the group disappeared through the great doors, the muttering a of "fucking bitch" and other phrases alike grew fainter and fainter. As the doors closed with a loud thud, Bunny released my arms and North drank from what looked like a small flask he pulled from his pocket.

I looked around at the three remaining pairs of eyes, all focused on me.

Great. Now it was just me, Bunny, North and Jack.

And who said I wasn't having any fun yet?

**There you have it, the fifth chapter! Sorry it took longer than usual, but it is my second longest chapter yet so please forgive me :p Major Jack X Cue next chapter! Get pumped! **

**Also massive thank you to those people who reviewed and added this story to their favourites, you guys rock! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six - The Do's the Don't's and the Deals.**

"Jack, take Cue to her room and make sure she stays there, me and Bunny need to speak..." North said finally, concluding his hour long lecture about how shooting a person in the heart, apparently whether they deserved it or not, was not the proper course of action in polite society.

To be honest I was only half listening anyway to the Russian the past hour, the sounds of April's squeals from the infirmary above us far more enticing to my ears.

"Yeh, and I need a good drink mate, it's been one hell of a day..." Bunny said, finally releasing my arms from behind my back and following North out one of the rooms many side doors.

Jack followed them with his eyes until the door closed softly behind them, then turned and met my eyes with a soft smile. He had my bow fastened around his back again and his left hand held it protectively, there was no way he was going to let me snatch it again.

We walked in silence through a door next to the one North and Bunny disappeared through, passing corridor after corridor until Jack finally stopped outside a door which must be the room I was staying in. Well, the room they thought I would be staying in.  
"Right, this way then" Jack said after a moment as he strolled through the door then turned back when he realised I wasn't following him.

"Cue?" He asked, genuine concern etched on his face. I refused to move, my arms were crossed and there was no way I was going to spend the night in this place. One day had been quite back enough thank you very much.

He walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder, leaning to to my face.  
"Is this about what April said? Because she didn't mean it Cue, she was just being foolish and-" I shoved him away and cut him off.

"Didn't mean it! She didn't mean it did she? Just like all the times she didn't mean every other cruel and evil snipe she has spat at me in the past three hundred years?" I laughed flatly and staggered out of Jacks grip.

"We'll you did kind of shoot her in the heart, so I'd say you to o were even."

I scoffed at him. "Forget it, your always going to defend her anyway. She is blond after all..." But he wasn't right. April and I were not even, not even close. Physical wounds heal. April is far too spiteful for that, she has the psychological warfare on her side. I lowered my eyes to the floor, my voice dropping with them. "But like I said before, getting me here was bad enough, there is no way I am staying the night. So you might just want to show me the front door now, save yourself the trouble."

Jack merely smiled and to my surprise, wrapped his arms around my waist, drawing me to him. The sudden movement caught me off guard and so my arms were trapped between our two bodies, cradled agains our chests.

For a moment I allowed myself to feel the safety and comfort that Jacks arms brought.

'Click'

What the fuck?

I looked down at my hands as Jacks lips grazed my ear making my body shiver in response. "Challenge accepted" He whispered, then stepped back, smirking like crazy at me.

"Kinky" I said flatly, trying to wriggle my wrists free from the bloody HANDCUFFS, that Jack had pulled from nowhere.

" This really isn't necessary Jackass!" I said calmly, but my glaring eyes showed that I was not happy about this situation, this only caused him to smirk more.

"Taking into account that the last time you were free to use your limbs, you shot a person..." He teased, walking towards me and backing me up into the wooden wall behind me as I tried to escape. "I'd say it is a necessary precaution."

He leaned into me slightly, placing his hands on the corridor wall on either side of my face, boxing me in.

"You know..." He whispered huskily, "I think I could get used to you in these..."

Did he just? Fuck!

I wriggled again to try to escape, but he only pressed his body against me even more, his body now flush against mine. I pushed my bound hands against his chest, trying desperately to get out of whatever THIS was, before it escalated... which was really the one place I really wanted it to go...

In one swift movement he pinned my hands above my head, grinning widely at my shocked expression.

"I... I have to go Jack" I stuttered, looking into his eyes, filled with that playful spirit and... desire? I fought the thought away.

"No, you don't." He whispered. "Stay."

I sucked in a breath. Where was this coming from? I mean sure, over the years he has made subtle hints at flirting, but they never were anything more than that, nor did I ever think of them as anything more! Besides, that's just who Jack is, he has and always will be THAT guy with the charisma and the face that makes girls swoon. His eyes, his face, his body, it just seemed that wherever he went spirits from all over would fall at his feet. Just look at April for example...  
I'm not saying he was a 'womaniser' per say... Jack just always had that certain talent for getting what he wanted when women were concerned...

"Like it or not Cue, you are staying here, so it would be so much easier if you at least tried to enjoy yourself." His breath tickled my ear, sending shivers down my spine which definitely sent sent alarm bells ringing through my head.

Too close, too close, too close!

"Jack, I am not kidding anymore. Let go of me!" I struggled against him again, trying desperately to ignore the fact that just made him press against me more. " I am not staying in this god forsaken frozen wasteland, and there is nothing you can do to convince me otherwise-"

My words were abruptly cut off when Jack smothered his mouth over mine, swallowing down attempts to talk my way out of the situation. His lips were smooth and cool against my unyielding and flustered ones as he tried to coax a response from them.

In a moment of weakness I allowed myself to actually enjoy what was going on, and tentatively at first, leaned into Jacks body and kissed him back. I could feel that infuriating smirk against my mouth when my lips pressed up against his a little more forcefully and he threaded his fingers through my hair and tilted my head slightly, deepening the angle of our mouths.

I could still hear the warning bells blasting at the back of my mind, furiously trying to snap me back to my senses, trying to convince the voice that kept saying "this is wrong", "get out of here", "you know this will end badly", that it felt entirely right at this very moment.

Jack moaned slightly as he broke away from the kiss in a desperate attempt for air and brought his lips to the base of my earlobe, his breath making the hair on my neck stand straight. " I knew I could convince you to stay" he breathed huskily before trailing kisses down the side of my neck, his hand still tangled in my hair.

His words rang through my head as I realised I had heard them before, quite recently in fact. The memory of North leaving the room not ten minutes ago came back into my mind.

"Make sure she stays." That's what he had said.

I felt my body tense as I saw the situation for how it really was. How could I have been so stupid! And here I thought Jack was kissing me because he CARED? No... He was only following orders, using any extremes necessary to convince me to stay at the Pole.

He was using me.

Jack felt my body tense as the air left my lungs and pulled back to look me in the eyes, slightly concerned. "You ok Cue, or is it just me that takes your breath away?" He smirked, leaning down again to recapture my lips.

That's when I snapped.

I shoved my hands against his chest, wriggling my handcuffed arms free from between our chests before slamming them into his jaw so hard that his body hit the opposing wall of the narrow corridor.

"What the hell was that for!" He yelled, indignation spread across his face.

"What the hell was that for?" I repeated, the gestured with my hands the two of us "What the hell was THAT for? Why the fuck did you kiss me!"

"Oh jeez, I don't know Cue, maybe because that's what people do when the care for each other! Honestly you think you'd know that!" He fumed, his left hand rubbing the side of his face.

"Don't try and pretend this is about you caring Jackass!" I almost spat his name. "Like you wouldn't do anything just to get me to stay here! I heard North myself!"

"Ok, so maybe I thought that you would stay if you couldn't get enough of me-" I scoffed and turned to walk down the hall, but Jack caught my arm. "But that doesn't mean I don't care about you as we'll." he said, looking into my eyes, trying to convince me.

But it was too late. My defensive walls were back in place from the brief moment he penetrated them when he kissed me.

Jack seemed to sigh deeply, as if attempting to calm himself down. When he spoke, his voice was much quieter but still cold and hard. "Believe it or not Cue, but I do care about you. A lot. I always have."

"No you don't." I laughed flatly, gently removing his hand from my shoulder. His eyebrows furrowed and he opened his mouth to protest but I cut him off.

"I know you don't Jack! And even if you truly believe you do, you don't, not really. I mean look at you!" I gestured up and down his body with my hands which only confused him more.

"You can get any girl you want, and the fact that I may be the one girl that has refused you poses a challenge to you. You are obsessed with obtaining the one thing you can't have..." I tried to wrap my arms around myself but mentally slapped myself when i tried to do it while handcuffed, and everted my eyes to the floor.

"It's the thrill of the chase... It's not care."

We stood there for a few moments, neither of us willing to look the other in he eye, when suddenly through the silence Jack spoke.

"You know, I get it you know. But your wrong." He lifted my chin to make my eyes meet his.  
"I'm not stupid you know, I can see the way you look, the way you act when you think people aren't looking, when you think no one can see you. You can put on a brave face for them but it doesn't fool me.

I know that someone hurt you, a long time ago. I know that they hurt you so bad that they made you doubt yourself and build layers around yourself for protection. I know someone made you put up so many walls and locks and defence mechanisms because you are petrified of ever letting someone get that close to you again that sometimes you forget who you really are, who you used to be when things were simpler."

"But I want you to know" he whispered, leaning closer to me again, his hand still placed protectively on my shoulder. "That I am _not_ that person."

I searched his eyes for signs of lies, but I couldn't. As far as I could tell he was telling the truth, or at least he thought he was. But that still didn't mean that I had to trust him...

"You may not be that person now, but someday you might be...and that's a risk Im not going to take."I whispered back, not trusting my voice to speak any louder.

I wanted to trust him. By the gods did I want to trust this boy in front of me! But no amount of hope would make his words ring with truth. Deep down he would be just like the rest of them, he was just better at disguising it.

"I'll prove it to you!" He said suddenly, his voice full of excitement and resolve. I rose a brow at him which only made him grin more.

"I'll make you of deal Cue. You stay here at the Pole, and I'll prove to you that I do care." His eyes were so wide and pleading that I could not stop myself from laughing.

"That sounds like a terrible deal!" I scoffed, "For one, there is nothing in it for me, you have everything to gain!"

"Aye, but you have nothing to lose." Jack retorted, his playful smirk back in place.

I thought it over for a moment. I was true, there really was nothing to lose from this deal, and I would be getting free food and lodgings in return for, what? Someone trying to prove that they like me? Sure it was not the most conventional deal on the planet, but that didn't mean I would just agree to it. It was the principal of the matter!

"Fine" I sighed after a few moments, "but on these conditions." Jack nodded hopelessly and to be honest I think he stopped listening as soon as he heard me accept.

"Numb one" I began, " I will stay here for... One week, no more no less, so if you haven't convinced me whatever it is you are trying to prove by then, I'm out of here." Jack smirked but nodded.  
"Number two, I get my bow back now, no questions asked, and if by any reason you take it again, deals off." I raised an eyebrow at him, expecting him to protest, but he simply sighed and handed my bow back, which I fastened around my back. It felt good to have my baby back again, I felt somewhat incomplete without it, naked almost. It was a strange feeling, one too hard to try to explain.  
"And number three" I continued, " throughout the course of this week, you shall address me as 'Your Highness' or 'Thy Lord'."

...ok, so that last one was a joke, but he was doing so well with accepting my demands that I just couldn't help myself.

Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head while laughing. "So you'll stay?" He asked hopefully, to which I just sighed and nodded once, shaking his outstretched hand. "Well I better let you get some rest then, its getting dark and I'm sure your tired? I'll be back in the morning to check on you." He said softly, and ducked in quickly to kiss me on the cheek. He laughed softly when he saw my shocked expression, before performing an over exaggerated bow saying "Till morning your highness."

"Umm, Jack?" I asked. He turned to look at me as I held my cuffed hands out in front of him. He laughed before producing a key from his pocket and releasing my wrists from their metal confines. He smirked as he held them in his hands, twirling them around in his fingers.

"You know" he said, grinning like a madman, "I might keep these. Never know when they may come in handy" he winked at me.

I hit him in the arm and told him to bugger off before he walked back down the corridor and disappeared around the corner.

When I was certain he was gone I opened the door to my room, my eyes widening as I took in the state of the lush and expensive looking furniture. The whole room was massive, each wall sporting the usual wooden carvings as the rest of the workshop did. In the middle of the room, up against the wall lay a king sized bed with white and blue coverings, lamps and drawers sat on either side and an adjoining door on one of the walls was what I guessed to be the bathroom.

The sudden urge to explore everything was drowned out by the sudden realisation that Jack was right, I really was tired.

Unfastening my bow and quiver i placed them against the foot of the bed, then turned my attention to yanking my boots off of my feet. I don't know why I never undid the laces, yanking them off always seemed like the proper way to do it.

I flopped down onto the lush bed, loving the feeling of my body sinking down into the cushions. 'A girl could get used to this' I thought, as my eyes fluttered closed, and I began to drift off to sleep.

Well, I would have liked to drift off to sleep. My eyes were closed for barley five minutes when I heard the creeping of floorboards at the foot of my bed.

Someone was in the room.

I bolted upright and squinted my eyes in the dark, trying to make out the features of the figure standing at the foot of my bed.

"Hello there Cupid." a deep, velvety voice said.

I turned on the lamp next to me, my eyes narrowing and my eye brows furrowing when I realised who this dark figure must be.

"Pitch."

** Dun dun DUNNNN! Ok, so I realised that I only updated this morning, but I was really bored this afternoon so I thought I would try to write another chapter! Thank you again to those who reviewed, I hope you are enjoying the story so far!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Heyguys, sorry it's been a while since I last updated! I usually like to post a new chapter within the week, but alas with uni and all I have been really busy! I hope you all find it in your hearts to forgive me :) Anywho, just wanted to say thanks for the reviews and PM's you guys are great and I love some of your story ideas, it definitely helps to get the old creative juices flowing! Cheers guys! **

**Chapter... Seven is it?: Usually I consider a strange dream me taking a bath in spaghetti, but this? **

I had never seen the Boogyman before.

I mean sure, I had swapped stories about him with the odd spirit from time to time,overheard the legends parents told their children. He was one of those people who you knew exactly who they were without ever laying eyes on them simply because of their reputation. His clothes, his stance, his expression- everything mapped out perfectly to the mental picture I had in my head.

But never in my over three hundred years of death, had I seen the man in person...

To be honest, if he wasn't the Guardians most wanted at the moment, I would almost feel privileged.

Almost.

I folded my arms and sat cross legged on the bed on top of the covers, leaning back against the head rest, trying to look as bored as I could manage while fighting down the small feeling of fear I felt spark inside me. I just needed to stay calm, stay in control of my emotions... I had heard enough about Pitch Black to know that much.

"So you are the great Pitch Black huh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "Must say, I thought you'd be taller..."

Ok, so sometimes I was a fucking idiot, I mean who the hell says that to the one dude the Guardians are afraid of? But a part of me couldn't help it, I guess I always had a knack for pushing buttons. The people who thought they were better than everyone else, thought they superior with no real reason to be, we'll it was those sorts of people that just ticked me off so much that sometimes, I just couldn't help myself but tick them a little back...

He merely smirked and looked me up and down. "It is indeed a pleasure to meet you Cupid, although I couldn't help but picture you with... less clothes."

My eyes widened suddenly, but I quickly recovered, remembering that I had to keep my 'fear-o-meter' to an absolute minimum. I knew he was referring to the nappies thing, how everyone just assumed I was a flying half naked baby... but the way he said it... the way he was looking. Well lets just say that it reminded me too much of a leopard about to pounce...

Plus there was the fact that I was dressed for sleep, my faded red hoodie and shirt thrown haphazardly to the floor at the side of the bed, leaving me in a simple white tank top with no shoes and my jeans.

Lets all take a minute to be thankful of the fact that tonight was one in a million that I left the jeans on...

The tank top was just a comfort thing however. During the day, my wings are usually concealed under my clothing. Although Jack cut slits int my hoodie, and my plain t-shirt already had matching ones, I really tried to get out of the habit of destroying the few pieces of clothing I actually owned! The tank top however allowed my tawny black wings to breath so to speak, there was nothing like the feeling of cramped limbs while you slept!

"The pleasure is all yours Pitch, I can assure you that much." I glanced quickly to the foot of the bed, where my bow and quiver were harmlessly propped up against the side of the enormous bed. I pegged there to be about six meters between the weapon and me, if ever things got ugly...

I was hoping things wouldn't get to that.

To be honest I was entranced by the fact Pitch was here at all, and in an odd way, I was exited almost. It was like that feeling you got when a candle or a lighter was in the room. Sure, the things are dangerous and in hind sight you should stay away. But you just can't help yourself to flick your fingers through the flames quickly... If only just to see what happens...

It was that sudden rush of danger and adrenaline that passed over me now.

"Not to sound rude or anything..." I began, then quickly retracted the statement remembering that it was PITCH who had snuck into my room uninvited and unannounced in the middle of the night! I think if any of us had any rudeness to be pardoned for, it would be him!

"But what do you want Black?" I frowned slightly, generally interested in what he had to say.

"I want you..." He replied, nonchalantly.

Say WHAT?

I recovered my confused look almost immediately and swapped it for a cocked eyebrow and a slight smirk. 'I have to keep my fear under control' I thought to myself. He had no power over my fear, and in turn over me if I kept my emotions in check.

Pitch seemed to notice my moment of weakness, his eyes flashing for no more than a second when I was hit with a pinch of fear.

Time to start back peddling!

"Well, as flattered as I am Black, your not really my type." I joked, "you know, the whole 'scaring kids, killing puppies, creeping into girls rooms at night thing' doesn't really do it for me. So if this late night visit is just you trying to make your move, I must bid you goodnight."

I made my way to standing and began to walk towards the bedroom door. My hand was on the handle and i was seconds away from sprinting out of the room and waking the Guardians, when suddenly we were outside in the snow coved ground of the North Pole. I spun on my heels, my sock covered feet sinking slightly into the frosty ground, the wind whipping at my face.

We were outside.

I glanced around, somewhat perplexed but entranced by the beautiful surroundings. I guessed it to be a little past midnight, but with the non-existent light pollution out here, the millions of stars shining brightly lit the nights sky, rivalling the light of the suns rays.

Surprisingly though, I was not cold. In fact, I couldn't feel much in the way of my surroundings at all. The ground didn't feel wet, the air didn't feel cool, in fact if I closed my eyes I wouldn't believe I was standing in the tundra at all.

Yet here it was, as clear as it had been when I was flying overhead this morning.

I clenched my fist, testing the ability. I could feel that. So why could I not feel the ground...?

I looked back at Pitch who raised an eyebrow at me, as if daring me to say something out load.

"I'm dreaming. Aren't I?" I asked, watching his sneer widen in confirmation of my thoughts. No wonder the ground didn't feel quite real enough, my body was still in my room, sound asleep in my bed... How my mind got out here was another question.

I folded my arms again, taking on a more defensive position and looked Pitch directly in the eye. I tried to look as intimidating as possible... Which was only possible to a certain degree to be honest, considering I was currently weapon-less, wearing bright yellow socks and had major bed head!

I thought I'd give it a shot none the less!

"Ok Pitch, so what was so god dam important that you chose to visit me in a dream, and drag me outside?" I couldn't contain the twinge of anger and frustration in my voice. What can I say, that bed was dam comfy! And whoever got in between me and sleep deserved what they got!

He merely laughed and stepped closer. "Choice? As if choice played a part in the matter..." He sneered coldly.

"Although I relish the idea of seeing your sleeping form in real life Cupid, this was the only way I could converse with you, if not in person, in mind..." He stepped closer again, but I stood my ground. Retreating now would look like a sign of weakness in his eyes, and I'll be dammed if I play 'damsel' tonight!

"Unfortunately, after my last escapade, The Jolly Fat Man thought it proper to put up some preliminary defence mechanisms, a sort of 'Guardian line of Sanctuary' if you will-"

"He locked you out" I said with a smirk, cutting him off and causing him to narrow his eyes but nod once, so I continued.

"That's why your in my head, there's no way you could get into the Workshop, no way you could get passed whatever North set up." I laughed as it all clicked into place in my mind. "Never thought I'd say this, but good thinking North!"

Pitch ignored me and leaned in closer, his face inched from mine. The warning bells inside me began to blare but I fought away the flight instinct. I held my ground.

"True, I can't step foot inside the workshop, but I must say I think I prefer these visits. They are far more, what's the word..." He reached out and tucked a strand of loose hair back behind my ear "intimate." He finished, grinning in that certain way that held more resemblance to a snarling cat that any form of smile. I decided to change the subject.

"That doesn't answer my question though. What do you want with me Pitch? Why go through so much effort to penetrate my unconscious mind just to chat?" This time I did step back slightly, his nearness impossible to ignore for much longer. I didn't know much about the way dreams were created, but by the way Sandy described it to me once, creating a dream for someone was fairly simple, it only took a handful of dream dust and frankly a toddler could do it, well frankly Jack could do it was how he described it... but to physically put yourself into another persons mind? well that was no easy thing.

He stepped closer again, matching every one of my defensive step backs with his offensive footwork. Eventually I just stood still again and told myself to not be a pansy and suck it up.

It was only a dream after all...

"Like I said Cupid. I want you..." He breathed, his golden eyes completely locked on mine. I stayed silent, willing him to elaborate.

"I want you to join me." He smiled.

Wait. Was he being serious? I couldn't help but laugh a little.

"That's why you are here? That's why the guardians all have their knickers in a twist? Because little old you is looking for recruits, and not just any-" I burst out laughing again, "but me? Seriously dude I am like the worst spirit in the world. And I say that with all honesty!" I laughed again "I mean look, it's Valentines day today! and you see me working? That is just how seriously I take my job! And let's face it, the Guardians are not exactly going to start running for the hills when the spirit of the most pansy ass thing in the world comes running for them." I sighed deeply to try and quell my laughing fits, but honestly was he serious!?

"I'm sorry Pitch, actually no I'm not, I'm really not. But 'love' and fear don't go together. We'd kill each other before we work well together."

I spoke with confidence, my voice strong and steady to the point where even I believed my words... I'm not exactly the best advocate for the positive side of love per say, so I hope Pitch didn't pick up on the lie...

"Ahh, then ask yourself , what goes together better than the dark and the heartbroken? Than fear and hatred, than nightmares and rejection?" His cat like smile returned again.

My smile faded, my eyes narrowing ever so slightly as I stared into his golden cat like eyes.

"And you know I'm right..."He breathed, his head inclined towards mine slightly, his breath tickling my right ear as he whispered his words.

I tried to disguise my sharp intake of breath for a yawn. I had to fake ignorance right now. I could feel my heart rate increasing, and my ability to lie, something I usually pride myself on, I could feel slowly slipping away...

No matter how much I tried, how much I desperately thought and believed that his words held no ounce of truth in them... the back of my mind knew better. Deep down, further than I would ever care to let myself admit, a small part of me knew he was not lying.

And the worst part?

He could see that I was.

I remained silent, not trusting my voice to get me out of this situation, to which Pitch took as an invitation to continue.

He walked while he talked, taking small circles around my body, his black boots sinking slightly into the snow covered ground. He circled me like a vulture three times before he spoke, his eyes roaming my body, as if hearing everything my silent demeanour screamed.

"You can try and hide it from the crowds, from everyone's prying eyes. You can try to hide it from the Guardians, hell you can even try and hide it from yourself. Go on, go ahead, I won't stop you..." He began to circle me again, his words and movements wrapping tightly around me, preventing me from escaping.

... Not like I could anyway, being trapped inside my own mind and all...

"But I am afraid, dear Cupid... You will never be able to hide it from me." He paused briefly, holding my eyes with his gaze too long and too intense and too close for comfort.

"And what would that be?" I asked, mentally slapping myself when my voice came out quiet and wreak rather than the strong and uninterested sound I was going for.

He chuckled slightly, a deep and velvety sound. To be honest, if he wasn't the king of nightmares, nor invading my mind while I slept nor had the reputation for being a 'shoot first ask questions later' kind of guy, his laugh may actually be something people enjoy hearing...  
It was deep and rich and hummed with a feeling i couldnt quite put my finger on. it was the sort of laugh you would expect to come from your friend or relative, and so the fact that it was coming from the Boogyman himself was just...wrong.

His voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"The truth." He whispered. My heart sunk. Whatever it was the thought he knew, I was sure no good would come of hearing it.

" You can claim that your cause is just, that love is a cause worth fighting for, that it can and will always prevail" he paused for a moment, taking his time to smirk meaningfully at me. "Or. You can accept the fact that we both know that is a work of fiction, crafted by The Man in the Moon himself to delude humans..."

I stilled my mouth into alight line, staring into Pitch's eyes with a mixed look of anger and intrigue.

" For years, many years I thought I was alone. I thought no one else must feel like this." His eyes softened slightly, as if general sorrow and pain was hidden behind them. His hands clutched hopelessly at his chest, in attempt to 'air his poor wounded heart' I guessed. I scoffed at the idea. Like Pitch Black even had one.

"But then I heard of you, my dear Cupid. The only one who could understand what I went through, what we both went through, and I thought that I didn't have to be alone. That there was a girl, so surrounded by the love of others that she was almost drowning in it, but never fully being consumed..."

I tried my best to keep my face passive, to remain unfazed by his words, but the tears threatening to fall from my eyes were not listening. Flashes of my past blurred my vision for a second, and I shook them away forcefully. I couldn't let him believe that there was truth to his words, I wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"You think I don't know what it feels like? To be battered and bruised and cast aside? You think I don't know how it feels to try and empty yourself so that you feel nothing, because nothing is better than any of the feelings that plague you when your heart lives in hope!" His voice rose suddenly, almost to the point of yelling, but his eyes still contained that trace of genuine sadness. He stepped closer, his jaw clenching and his golden eyes glowering at mine, however his words were barley whispered.

"For years I have lived with this pain in my chest. A pain so deep that it physically hurts to breath, although we still do. We fight the urge to rip it out, to scrub it clean but still it remains, because we must keep it there. We must. Because the pain is a reminder of once was. We are the same, you and I."

I hated how his words rung with so much truth, and a small part of me actually felt sorry for Pitch.

I knew what it was like.

To not want to wake up in the mornings. To not want to wake up at all in fact. To stay still under the comforts of a blanket and believe that the world outside didn't exist. But still we always do. Because we always must. No matter the pain, I knew the feeling of putting on a brave face and pretending that my problems went real, that they were left behind along with the bed we were so desperate not to leave...

It was in that moment I realised that Pitch and I were more alike than I originally thought.

'Inside every villain lies the soul of a heartbroken hero...' The words rang in my head.

He was right. We were the same, not that I'd ever care to admit it.

Love and hate.

The two sides of the same blade.

The increasing sound of Pitch's voice drew me out of my thoughts, and it was then that I realised he had been talking this whole time.

"You can hide behind your jokes and your quips. You can pretend that you know nothing about what I am talking of. You can put on a brave face pretend that it doesn't get to you. But what's the use when I can see you? The very heart of you. The p of yourself that you show only to your nightmares. The part of yourself that not even you fully trust or understand."

"You're wrong." I managed to say, my voice trembling slightly, betraying me and practically shouting 'I AM LYING' at him. He smiled cruelly. "No." He sneered. "No, I'm not, and you know how I know?" He asked, looking just over my right shoulder to the snow covered ground behind me.

"Because of them."

I turned slowly, my eyes widening and my breath catching in my throat when I caught site of what he was looking at. There, on the ridge no further than one hundred feet away, stood little more than three dozen smoke like horse.

My fear.

Shit! This was not good.

The beasts swung their heads aggressively, their piercing yellow eyes locking onto my figure, refusing to look at anything else, their hooves trampling the ground impatiently where they stood, waiting for orders from their master. They were large, larger than any living horse I had ever seen by far, and more lethal too.

The fearlings, as I had heard from the stories of passers by, manifested from fear and the darkest secrets one kept hidden in their hearts. I tried to slow my heart rate again, repeating chants in my head,

'I'm only dreaming',

'I am calm',

'They have no power over me'.

By my third round of chanting and envisioning a clam, placid blue ocean, two of the horses at the flanks of the herd melted into puffs of smoke in the air, disappearing as the fear inside me did. I relaxed slightly, before Pitch spoke again, his voice much softer this time, quieter,more genuine.

"Why do you defend love when you yourself are so opposed to it? What favour do you owe it for what it has done to you? They don't understand people like us you know, they don't understand what we have been through. What we have sacrificed! What we have lost! Love is not meant for people like us Cue... so why should it be for everyone else..."

I was confused slightly when he chose to use my nickname, something that only the Guardians did really when I tried to distance myself from the nappy wearing baby 'Cupid'. I knew what he was trying to do, it was something I had done on many occasions to prove my point. He was trying to insinuate the fact we were friends, to plant some connection in my head that I could trust him, that we could trust each other, something that didn't come easily for me. I knew what he was doing, trying to sympathise, going for the empathy tactic. If you want someone to agree with you, you try to convince them that you are on their side, that you are both fighting for the same thing, when in reality, they a just using you...

His eyes bore into mine, his gaze strong and unyielding, however there was a tough of desperation hidden deep within them.

"Join me Cue. And you will never, never have to feel that way again... The way you have been for all these years." His sympathetic look suddenly changed into a vicious snarl.

"Look at you. The forgotten echo of the once broken hearted. I know what it's like Cue. To watch them, day after day. Watch them live their lives, waste their lives! Never knowing what a privilege it really is to love, to be loved! And who rolls the dice and decides who should be given what hmm!? Who decided that we are to be the ones to be denied!"

He strode closer, his face merely inches from mine, his breath coming out short and heavy, his words slicing through the winter air around us. His eyes were wide and almost, well... pleading. Almost.

"What if we could control it Cue? What if we called the shots. You wouldn't have to feel alone anymore, you wouldn't have to feel unloved. You could have everything you have ever wanted. To BE wanted! All you have to do... is take my hand..."

His arm outstretched before me, his hand ready to receive my confirmation.

"I... I can't, this is... I mean..." I was lost for words. I couldn't do this!

...could I?

NO!

I tried to fight the inner turmoil within myself. And as much as I hated to admit it, a small part of me was actually contemplating the idea. If only to make the pain stop.

But an end to my suffering was in no way a reason to inflict it on others, and I had no doubts that Pitch's plan held some hidden one. There was no way he was in this purely because he cared... Was there?

I tried to back peddle.

"Even if I did Pitch... I can't, it's just..." I took a deep breath. "I can only give people the idea of love, I don't control it! If I did do you think we would be having this conversation? Do you think that the world wouldn't be at bloody peace by now if I had the power to MAKE people fall in love!" I had not even realised that I was yelling.

"I'm a fucking SPIRIT for Mims sake! One who was unlucky enough to be plagued in death by the one thing in my life that never worked out! You think I don't get the irony in that! But that's the way it is... and maybe... that's the way it's support to be."

My last line was barley a whisper "We live out our lives punishment in death..."

I reverted my eyes to the floor, hating myself for how weak and defeated I sounded.

Pitch shot out his hand carefully, placing his fingers under my chin and tilting it until my reluctant eyes met his. His words were strong, but quiet and gentle.

"What if I told you I could teach you how to control it?" His toothy smile returned, but this time it was more gentle, more genuine somewhat.

"What if I told you I could teach you how to inflict love. And most importantly... how to take it away..."

He held out his hand again.

"What do you say?"

**Okie dokie, another chapter down WOOOOO! As always thanks to all who have reviewed and fav/followed this story, I hope you guys are enjoying it so far! :) if there is anything you would like to see/can't stand/or simply just want to comment, please by all means feel free to message floor leave some more of your lovely reviews! **

**Thanks guys! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys, I just want to say IM SO SORRY IT HAS TAKEN ME SO LONG TO UPDATE! Never fear, I am not abandoning this story, but now that I am back at uni I won't be able to update as often as I would like! So please be patient with me, because I have planned allot with this story! :D thanks guys and please review! **

Chapter eight: The Breakfeast of champions.

Living on your own for pretty much the best part of three hundred years tends to do two things to you.

Number one.

It makes person independent, strong willed -something which I'm not saying is a bad thing, unless of course you are a younger sibling or a Pomeranian with small man syndrome. Only having yourself to look out for and only having yourself looking out for you often makes a person age more then they should have too, makes a child become an adult before their time. Ask anyone who has been abandoned at a young age or forced to brave the world alone, they will all tell you the same thing, they all share the same look in their eyes. the look of abandonment. The look of betrayal. The look of a childhood lost.

Not that I'm getting into my intricate and tragic sap story of a childhood, lets just say that that's a story for another time...

Preferably a time when alcohol is involved!

Great, now I've gone on another fucking tangent again! Lets bet beck to the point shall we!

The second thing was that it makes you secretive. Aloof. Elusive. Or any other fucking synonyms you want to use to say the exact same thing.

It made you skeptical of trust and being trusted in return...

So in a nutshell, it made me keep to myself, and with that, my problems with it.

I sat up in the same bed I had fallen asleep in, squinting slightly as i looked around the room, my eyes still filled with the remainders of sleep.

No more snow. No more nightmare horses.

But most of all, no more Pitch.

To be honest I don't really know if I was surprised or not to not see him there, standing by the end of the bed as he had done last night as real as ever. As I clambered off the bed with less grace than I would care to admit, stumbling over the sheets, then my pile of clothes, then my quiver at the foot of the bed, then my sheets again, I tried to recall last nights events on my stumbling way to the adjoining bathroom.

The brief moment when being neither awake nor asleep first thing in the morning was slipping away from me, making it harder and harder to remember the exactitudes of my dream. That's all it was right? A dream...  
My mind began to fog except for one image that seemed to be reluctant to leave.

Pitch, with his hand outstretched towards mine...

That part most certainly was not jut a dream. Pitch, although not physically real in my mind was 400% Pitch last night and in no way a manifestation of my own imagination. If it WAS me dreaming up Pitch last night, he would have been wearing a dress or playing Jenga or something utterly ridiculous that my subconscious mind likes to create! But none the less, Pitch was as real in my mind as any of the other Guardians.

Which brings me back to my previous rant. For a person who has lived their whole life on their own, only ever looking out for themselves and only worrying about their own problems... How the hell was I going to tell the Guardians?

Answer?

I wasn't.

I shook my head and whipped my eyes while looking into the full length mirror which I swear to Mim was broken because there is no way a person can look THAT bad first thing in the morning!

This was MY problem. Pitch came to me, and for reasons beyond me, asked me for assistance. I could handle this on my own and there was no way I was going to give Jack or any other Guardians the satisfaction of bailing the 'hopeless little spirit of love' out of any situation.

I was far too stubborn and proud to use the self serve machines at the supermarkets let alone discuss with the Guardians- people (and rabbits... And fairies... And weird sand men...) whom I don't really get along with in the first place- about happenings that occur in such a private setting as my own subcontious!

I have done just fine by myself so far, who says that's gonna change?

I gabbed the toothbrush from the pot in the fully stocked medicine cabinet I had assumed North had furnished for all the guest bedrooms. Once I was in a semi decent state; teeth brushed and face washed, I trudged back into the bedroom and pulled my shirt back over my singlet and my hoodie over that before yet again stumbling over the sheets at the foot of the bed on my way back to the bathroom to perform some sort of miracle on my 'I look like I was dragged through a bush backwards' hair.

I brushed my hair facing the mirror, which in hind sight wasn't really of much help considering my eyes were closed the whole time. This was partly due to two reasons. Reason number one being that I was still in a semi state of denial about the fact my hair looked like it had never met a brush in its life. The second... well lets just say that my eyes were still in denial that it was morning at all...

I think it's safe to say I'm not a morning person.

Me and mornings had somewhat of a 'love hate' relationship. Meaning being, I loved the idea of them, that whole romanticised crap of watching the sun rise, I can understand why people think that's cool...But to actually follow through and wake up before 1pm rolls by? Well that's where I have a problem...

Just as I had managed to brush my hair into a half decent ponytail I heard a soft knock at the door. I groaned. If there was one thing I loved more than mornings, it's people coming to visit me in the morning!

But hey, let's all just take a minuite to be thankful that you don't get Jehovah's witnesses at the North Pole!

... I bloody hoped.

"Be right out" I shouted, then proceeded to plod my way out of the bathroom at a leisurely pace and unlocked the bedroom door.

"...it's a little early to ding dong dash isn't it?" I mumbled, looking around at the empty hallway. Just as I was about to close the door and go back to bed, something on the floor in front of me caught my attention.

There, on the floor, was a large rectangular breakfast.

I looked around the hall searching for a mysterious sender, but when i found nothing, no trace of a person or yeti in sight, I picked up the breakfast tray and bringing it into the room.

I placed the tay on the bed, then took a few steps back as if it was going to jump at me. Maybe it was me just being naturally suspicious, but where I was from, no one did something nice for you unless they expected something in return. And there was no way I was willing to be in any ones debt here. It was bad enough that I was at the Pole all together.

The tray looked harmless enough, with a plate of pancakes and a glass of orange juice resting neatly atop it. I walked around the bed twice, my eyes locked on the mysterious gift. Picking up the glass much like someone would pick up a bomb, I sniffed the orange juice as if subconsciously checking that it wasn't poisoned.

What can I say? I have trust issues!

But that's when I smelt the pancakes. And too be honest, at that moment I'm pretty sure I almost had a food orgasm. I'm not even kidding you. In fact, at this point I wouldn't even mind if they WERE poisoned, they smelt so good that it would almost be a worthwhile was to die!

Hmmmm, death by pancakes, not a bad way to go I guess, as far as death goes anyway. Sure as hell beats the first time I died! For a few moments I pondered about it, the fact, if there was any at all, that I could die a second time. I made a mental note that if I indeed could, pancakes would definitely be the way to go!

None if this "falling to death in your sleep" crap kids,just remember that auntie Cupid endorses death by pancakes! I can see it now. My own advertising campaign and everything, cereal boxes, the whole shebang!

... Wow.

It really MUST be early in the morning. I have been talking about fucking pancakes for the past ten minutes... Well not actually fucking pancakes. Fucking, pancakes. God the wonders of punctuation! Great! And now I'm actually thinking of fucking pancakes!

I better actually eat something before my brain melts out through my ears altogether.

A small piece of paper fluttered onto the bed when I picked up the glass of orange juice to wash down the pancakes I practically inhaled. Honestly I don't know how I didn't notice the note at all before. Sure it was small, about the size of a business card, but the frosted patterns that singed the edges should have really been a dead give away.

This was from Jack.

Well, he was a persistent bugger, I'd give him that. Although I couldn't help the smile that crept into the corner of lips at the thought of someone going to such lengths for me...

The amount of times that someone had intentionally gone out of their way just to make me happy was such a rare thing, that dispute the fact it was hideously early in the morning, I couldn't help the feeling that a good day was beginning.

The note was folded in half with jacks lazily scribbled writings all over it.

"Cue.  
Please accept this peace offering as an advanced apology for what I am about to tell you..."

Ok, good feeling gone.

"The Guardians request everyone's presence in The Globe Room immediately, you included. Just remember, it's a right, then a left, then two rights, four lefts and a right, got it? And don't even think about flying out the window to escape, North sealed them all personally just in case you got any ideas of doing a runner! If your not down here before the hour we'll send out a search party!

-Jack

PS, enjoy the pancakes."

I glanced up at the clock on the wall hanging above the bed. It was 8.56.

Well fuck my life.

It was 8.56, no wait scratch that, now it's 8.57, meaning that I had three minutes to somehow manoeuvre my way through his labyrinth of a workshop, miraculously finding my way as I go!

Even though I knew that although jack meant the whole 'if your not here at nine, we'll send a search party for you' as a lit hearted joke, I also knew that North would not. Nor Bunny for that matter. Those two were almost as skeptical about me as I was of them. I was skating on thin ice as it was after the whole April incident, and apparently although the issue that she totally got what was coming to her apparently held no say in the matter, I didn't want to add another reason onto the long list of things about me that piss them off.

Me being late for an oh-so-important meeting for one.

If we were all going to have to wort together as it was (even though some people didn't even get s choice in the matter), i could at least try (emphasis on the TRY) to keep them from throwing a fit at me! And on that note, I grabbed my bow and quiver and the note with Jack's directions and sprinted out the door.

...

I pushed against the massive doors to the Globe Room, thanking God quietly in my head when I actually recognised the impressive wooden doors. This was the seventh room I had tried so far! Somehow in between heaving the doors open and trying not to drop my oboe or quiver I the process, I somehow managed to overbalance and fall forwards, sprawling out on the ground with a thud, cursing as I went.

Immediately all the Guardians ceased their chattering amount themselves and turned to look toward me to investigate the source of the sudden clatter.

...Not my most graceful entrance let me assure you.

Jack was the first one to come to my aid (of course he bloody was), flying over on the winds he had mastered to train and offered his hand out to me, a small smirk hanging on his lips from his obvious amusement at my failure to even open a door like a normal person!

"I told you you'd make it," he whispered with a wink as he hauled me to my feet "and just in time too, although you did have my directions, so how could you have gone wrong?"

"Oh yeh, great directions by the way" I mumbled, brushing the dust from my knees and refusing to look at the triumphant look on his face from allowing him to help me up. "If by two rights and four lefts you meant four lefts and two rights then congratulations, you really nailed it on the head!"

Jack shrugged his shoulders slightly and tried his best wt an apologetic smile, but the mischief in his eyes betrayed him and he ended up bursting into laughter. He was utterly amused at my flustered state and the fact hat I had been running around the entire workshop frantically trying to decipher the actual directions from his own vastly incorrect ones!

"Cue!" Norths big voice boomed happily, interrupting my thoughts and he walked over with open arms and captured me in a bear hug before I had time to even evaluate an escape plan. He crushed me to him, lifting me off the ground and rumbling with laughter at by obvious attempts to wiggle my way out of his hold. Before I knew it. My feet were back on the ground, his hands on both of my shoulders and he was looking down at me with a comforting smile.

...Ok... That was weird. So apparently we are friends now?

The shock and confusion must have been evident on my face because I could hear Jack sniggering at me as he casually leaned against his stick.

Narrowing my eyes at him I punched him in the arm, mumbling "Jackass" under my breath as I made my way over to the table to slump down in the same chair I had the day before.

Lets just get this over with yeh?

The chattering between everyone continued for another five minutes or so, every spirit and Guardian offering greetings to each other and discussing things that I was too far away to hear. Not that I was trying to eavesdrop anyway... I prefer to think of it more as 'people watching', the art of observing from a far. It was a game I often played when I was out in public. From the comfort of a tree I would often watch people go about their daily lives and try to guess what their job was, what they were doing, who they were shagging that sort of thing. A lot of the time it was all just nonsense, silliness to pass the time, but over the years i like to think that it increased my ability to read people, body language and that sort of thing.

North seemed to be yet again emerged in a deep conversation with Bunny, probably discussing what were were going to be discussing the meeting we were about to discuss. Tooth and Sandy were standing in front of the fireplace, both laughing at some joke I had clearly missed out on. Eve was doing what she does best, sitting by herself and looking down right creepy as usual.

Which of course leaves my two favourite people in the whole world...

Jack and April were standing as close as two people could get, her hands were on his chest yet again and her eyes kept dipping from his down to his lips. They were both making small talk and apparently Jack was a down right comedian, everything he had to say was greeted by Aprils thrill laugh as she threw her he'd back and giggled.

To be honest, I was kind of embarrassed for her. It was pathetic, the way she was throwing herself so desperately at Jack, yet somehow everyone was oblivious to it, so caught up in her innocent face and petite body.

Somewhere in between watching April's interactions with Jack, I haven't even noticed that he was now looking me directly in the eyes over April's shoulder. She seemed to be oblivious to the fact as she continued her probably mundane story, her hands sliding up and down Jack's forearms. Still he continued to ignore her, his eyes not leaving mine for a second until I thought I saw him roll his eyes at Aprils actions, but I couldn't be sure.

Finally having enough of the horrific PDA occurring in front of me, I pulled my hoodie over my head, folded my arms and sunk deeper into the chair in silence.

It was only when I could feel the chair beside me moving when I peaked out from my hood, realising that everyone was now seated in the same chairs as we all were yesterday.

And yep, you guessed it, Jack was yet again sitting by my side.

As North began formally addressing everyone around the table, Jack leaned in close so that only I could hear him.

"You didn't even let me pull your chair out for you, I am supposed to be proving I care am I not?" He joked, his knee brushing up against mine slightly. I shifted away a faction, allowing an inch of space to come between our legs. I was so not in the mood for his attempts at flirting right now.

"Yeh? Well keep trying buddy...that whole 'gentleman' crap? I'm not buying it." I grumbled back at him, my eyes never leaving Norths as I tried my best to ignore Jack chuckling silently beside me.

"Right then, lets get started!" North boomed, clapping his hands together.

"Bunny and I have done some talking, and although we know not yet how Pitch is making children forget, we have received information from a fellow spirit on the subject."

Other spirits? I wondered. True, I had never given it much though about there being other spirits, well other than the ones gathered around this table right now. I had kind of assumed that we were the only ones really... The eight of us, and Pitch... I had never really thought about the prospect of there being others.

True i had heard of most mortals stories of spirits and so i knew the legends of most pretty well, but it was impossible to distinguish the actual teachings of real spirits, like Santa and the Tooth fairy from those such as, well lets just say the loch ness monster or unicorns shall we?

Now that I did think about it... How many of us were there exactly?

I leaned back towards Jack, whispering to him while pretending to listen to North. "Hey Jackass, how many spirits are there exactly? You know, apart from everyone here?"

He pursed his lips as if deep in thought before he answered "Don't know exactly, more than the lot of us though, but I've only met a few others when North has invited them other times." He chuckled, "you should have seen the groundhog, lets just say that him and Bunny didn't exactly get off on the right foot..."

I glanced up at Bunny who was glaring at Jack, obviously he had heard his last comment. I couldn't help but chuckle slightly. Jack simply poked his tongue out at Bunny.

I couldn't help but smile at the relationship the two had. Although they both put up a brave and uninterested bravado, both of them always teasing and sending quipping remarks towards the other, I knew that deep down they cared about each other deeply, brotherly almost. No matter how many times they would fight or insult the other, pretending to tolerate the other at best, I knew they would fight tooth and claw if one of them was in danger. All of the Guardians would.

They were all family after all.

Family.

That word seems like such a foreign concept now.

The last time that word held any true meaning to me was when I was still alive... before I was chosen... before I died.

...before I was killed.

I shook my head. It was time to put the past away.

"So what new information has come to light North?" Jack asked, he was leaning forwards slightly, as if literally on the edge of his seat with whatever North was about to say.

"My good friend tells us he has information concerning Pitch. However he would like to tell us all himself." North answered gruffly, apparently he too was just as impatient as Jack to hear news on The Boogyman.

"So who is he North, your mysterious friend? How do you know that his information is reliable?" I asked, earning a glare from April as if the very though of me speaking without her permission disgusted her. I shot her a toothy smile in return.

"His name is Báine, the spirit of Luck, although I'm sure most of you would know him as-"

"A leprechaun?" I blurted, my expression one of half shock and amusement. "Wait, wait, wait. Your telling me that out of all they mythical creatures that COULD exist, leprechauns are the ones that are actually real?!" I laughed.

"Leprechauns. Really? Short, little rum loving bearded leprechauns? I'm not gonna lie, I was kind of hoping it would be a dragon or something, not a little old man at the end of the rainbow!" I laughed again. "Besides, leprechauns are just obsessed with gold and making shoes anyway, aren't they?" I asked, my laughter subsiding.

"Not quite." A husky voice spoke from the large doors. Everyone at the table turned towards the voice of the sudden newcomer, leaning casually against the wooden doors with his legs crossed at his ankles.

This new stranger winked at me when I finally met his eyes, my eyebrow shooting up in response. He looked a little older than me and Jack and we were both about eighteen when we died I figured. He had sandy blonde hair that was wayward and fell messily over his head, about the same length as Jacks. He had a strong jawline with stubble lightly sprinkling his chin in small amounts of scruff. The way he was leaning casually against the wooden doors, he looked more like a model, his gleaming green eyes never leaving mine.

My one eyes scanned down his body, starting at his feet and working upwards. He wore black combat boots and tan coloured leather pants with what seemed to be a sword sheath fastened around his waist. His muscular arms were folded across his chest, clad in a white undershirt and a green vest.

Whoever this newcomer was, he was good looking that was for sure, and although I hated to admit it, it was a fact that could not be denied.

The boy sent me a crooked smile, one i couldn't help but return shyly, then mentally slapped myself because of it. Tearing my eyes away from his body reluctantly, turning towards Jack to ask him a question, which was soon forgotten when I noticed the frown and glaring eyes he was sending towards the boy at the door.

Before I could ask him about his expression, Jack spoke. "And who would you be, mate?" He asked, and I couldn't help but notice the slight icy edge his words which confused me more.

"The name's Báine, mate." The sandy haired boy spoke, his mouth repeating that crooked smile he had sent at me earlier.

Wow.

And I thought my stories didn't do ME justice...

**Chapter eight is finished! And just to let you know, Báine is a traditional Irish name I got off google so I thought it would be fitting for a 'leprechaun' :) please Feel free to review guys! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Please accept my apology, I am super sorry it took me so long to update! I kind of half finished this chapter like two weeks ago but never really got around to finishing it until today so thank you everyone for your patience with this story, this irather longest chapter so far so I hope you enjoy it! You are all great, everyone go treat yourself to a cookie because you are all fab! :D**

**A little bit of admin first:**

**FanficMobileRead: no I have not read 'my lovely guardian' I will have to get on that, but thank you for your review none the less! :D **

**Avalongirl55: My parents are Irish so I could not help but experiment with the leprechaun's character, I wanted to see him much like Cue, breaking out of the stereotype. I am glad you enjoy the story! **

**x0Genevieve0x: yes I know I am not the best at summaries, but thank you for getting past that and actually giving my story a chance! I will try to rework the summary to make it a little less shit :p Virtual hug to you! **

**MissCazBroonAccioCreation: you are great, thank you Oslo much for your review! Also a virtual hug for you! **

**Black-Death-646: thank you so much, I always love youreviewers, they make me smile so much and keep up my motivation to continue my chapters! **

Chapter 9: "And I thought they didn't do _me_ justice!"

"So what you are telling me is, you are a leprechaun? Like a real life, legit, not pulling my leg right now, 100% leprechaun?" I asked, my eyebrow raised and my facial expression one of complete and blatant shock and disbelief.

The boy, ' Báine' apparently, opened his mouth to speak, but was suddenly pulled into a gigantic bear hug by North who had surprised everyone apparently at his speed and athleticism of getting our of his chair and making his way to greet the newcomer. The two exchanged friendly greetings, Báine making some joking comment about North having lost weight since their last meeting, causing the jolly man to boom with laughter before engulfing the boy less than three times his size into another bone crushing embrace.

Once the initial greeting was out of the way, North made way to return to his seat, dragging an empty chair on his way and placing it next to his for Báine to join him. I watched as everyone's eyes never left the newcomer and I scoffed silently 'it was like the prodigal son returning', I thought. The way everyone looked at Báine, with such pride and happiness in their faces as he made his way around the table, greeting each individual as he did so, I couldn't help but wonder what he had possibly done to earn such a reputation. Everyone around the table, even April and Eve included was gazing upon the boy like a close and long lost friend that had finally returned home.

Well, almost everyone. From the expression on Jack's face I couldn't work out if the two boys had never met each other, or if their history together was not a pleasant one.

Once Báine and Bunny had done that weird 'man to man' hug thing that boys do that I have never understood, you know, the one where they don't really actually properly hug one another but rather swing their arms around each other and hit each other on the backs, Báine proceeded to kiss Tooth on both cheeks, ruffle Eve's hair, graze the back of April's hand with his lips and shake Sandy's hand, all the while exchanging casual small talk and laughter with each person he met.

And then he got to me.

I gazed up at him expectantly, waiting for him to speak as he towered above my chair, leaning slightly against the back of it absentmindedly. Whatever Báine had gone to get into everyone's good graces, he had done toning to get into mine. A fact I was not going to forget any time soon. If he wanted me to treat him with the same respect and enthusiasm as everyone else here did, he was just going to have to bloody earn it.

"I'm Báine" he said warmly, extending his hand out to shake mine. "The 'Like real life, legit, not pulling your leg right now, 100% leprechaun', and it is a pleasure to meet you." He flashed a bright genuine smile at me, and I couldn't help the corner of my mouth twitch upwards slightly at the fact he used my same words from earlier, finally answering my question. I glanced from his eyes to his outstretched hand and then back again, making no real effort to shake it in response, expecting him to take the hint qnd drop his arm.

"I'm sorry, I didn't seem to catch your name?" He asked gently.

"That's because I didn't give it." I replied smoothly, feigning boredom.

He laughed before persisting "Well I do believe that it is customary in conversation that when a person tells you their name, they usually expect the favour to be returned." Báine said lightly, his Irish accent light and playful, but his hand remained outstretched none the less. He was persistent, I'd give him that.

I rolled my eyes before glanced between his eyes and his hands yet again. Thats when I heard North clear his throat and give me a look that can only be described as 'manors' before he said gruffly "Play nice Cue." A warning quality in his tone. I expect he didn't want a repeat of the little fiasco with April earlier...

"Ahh, so she does have a name." Báine laughed triumphantly and reluctant I took his outstretched hand in my own and gave it a half hearted shake. As I went to pull my hand away, his grip on my fingers tittered, bringing my hand up and lightly placing a soft kiss to the back of my knuckles. Once again I rolled my eyes at the gesture, trying to fight the urge my cheeks found to turn a shade of pink.

"I must say Cue, your stories don't do you justice." He murmured against the skin on the back of my hand, winking at me as he did so.

"And apparently neither do yours." Jack said beside me, standing up from his chair and thrusting out his one hand for Báine to shake. I couldn't tell if Jack was happy or not about the newcomer's presence, his face displaying signs of tolerance at best, but a smile quickly overtook his features. The fact that it looked to be the most forced smile in the world is another story...

Reluctantly Báine released my own hand and turned to Jack, shaking his hand with strength and enthusiasm. "Point taken, Jack Frost I take it?"

"Jeez, I wonder what gave it away?" I mumbled under my breath, and I could have sworn Jacks lips twitched upwards slightly.

"So you have heard of me." Jack replied, recovering his straight faced compositor, the two boys retracting their hands as Báine made his way to sit in the chair North had pulled out for him... Which was subsequently on the corner of the table in between a north and Jack.

"We'll, how could I not?" Báine laughed. "North has told me all about your last run in with Pitch, how you swooped in and said the day. That battle is now legendary in our world!" Jacks eyes seemed to light up with pride at that mention, but his expression towards Báine was one that never faltered." It's why I am here currently as it were, to share the information I have gathered and make it so this fiend does not succeed in rising to power again."

"Yes, yes!" Norths booming voice interjected, making me jump slightly at its volume and enthusiasm. "Tell us what you know my boy!" He said, clapping Báine on the back with a reassuring pat. Well, to a normal person it would have been a reassuring pat, but with North's size and strength I was at that moment 200% surprised he didn't just snap Báine's spine...

Silence filled the room for a few moments, everyone in complete anticipation for what Báine was about to say.

"He came to me." He spoke slowly, deliberately, causing muffled chattering and murmuring to fill the room as everyone tried to process what he said.

"What do you mean he came to you?" North asked, his voice rough and sounded slightly worried.

"He used dream sand to manipulate my mind, he appeared to me while I was asleep but do not mistake me, the dream was to of my doing."

My heart froze.

So it wasn't just me?

I tried to make my expression one of genuine surprise rather than the pale, shock filled, heart stopping feeling I was feeling on the inside. What had Pitch told Báine? Had he contacted everyone?

My silent question was soon answered when Báine spoke again. "I take it none of you have experienced something like this?" Everyone shook their heads, and in that moment, I found myself shaking mine also.

"What did he want mate? When he came to you, what did he want?" Bunny asked gruffly, confusion evident in the way his paws re balled into fists and his eyebrows were knotted together.

"He is weak. Vulnerable. And I would advice that if drastic action was to be taken, now old be the time to do so. He may be increasing gradually in power, the Globe is evident of that, but right now he is running on his last reserves." He took a breath before he continued. "He asked me to join him."

I tried not to show the fact that my eyes widened in recollection that remark, the memories Pitch standing before me the night before squirming back into my mind. He was recruiting us? I sank low in my chair, trying to deflect as much attention from me as possible.

"His own power at the moment is not great enough on its own, he is recruiting and it would not surprise me if before long he attempts to turn us all against each other."

"That will not happen!" North boomed cheerfully, banging his fist down on the wooden table as if to emphasise his point. We all knew he was right of course, no one here would willingly leave and join Pitch Black.

...would they?

"As for how he is making children forget about us entirely, I know not, and I am sorry that I have no more useful information to give." Báine looked down at his hands in his lap, as if genuinely disappointed that he could not be more assistance. North merely placed a hand on his shoulder "what you use already told us is help enough" he said, smiling reassuringly. "Now, Bunny, if I could have a word please? There is much to discuss..."

The so called 'meeting' broke off shortly after that, North and Bunny retreating to North's office to continue their discussion on the Pitch subject. I figured that Eve and April left to go to their rooms, probably to catch up n all that 'beauty sleep' April was always raving on about. Tooth and Sandy left to for fill their jobs as Guardians, it was nearly dusk surprisingly and although some children had forgotten all about then, they refused to let that stop them from bringing joy and happiness to the children of the world.

Báine walked over to where I was sitting on one of the wooden window seats, gazing out at the snow and slowly darkening sky. He sat down opposite me, greeting me with a warm smile before speaking. "People suck don't they?"

I glanced up at him, watching curiously as he laughed and scooted closer. "I mean come on. Who decided that the spirit of luck should be a little old man at the end of a rainbow, or that Cupid should be a flying baby? I sounds ridiculous doesn't it!"

I couldn't help but laugh in return. It was nice actually, to have someone for once who knew what it was like to live with so many stereotypes and misconceptions about you. "At least they got your gender right" I joked.

"Oh yes, because being made out to be a little old man with a beard is so much better." He said sarcastically.

"We'll in their defence, you do kind of have a beard. And you are not the tallest of spirits, Bunny is like a full head taller than you." I smirked, pointing to the light stubble that sprinkled his chin.

Sighing in defeat he chuckled lightly "Point taken. Although Bunnymund is a magical talking rabbit and the guardian of Easter, so I hardly think his hight really counts in the scheme of things." He chuckled again, our eyes meeting for the briefest of moments before I glanced out the window again.

"Point taken." I said, earning a sly smirk from Báine at the fact I used the same words as he did, returning the favour from our conversation earlier.

"You know, some people think that when they see me, I have to grant them wishes."

"Seriously? I thought that was like a genie or something?"

"I know right, like I said before, people suck."

"Please" I said, rolling my eyes as my voice increased in volume "At least people don't think you fly around naked." I scoffed, Báine simple raised an eyebrow then proceeded to laugh his head off when he saw that I was serious.

"Ouch."

I couldn't help but laugh as well, this conversation was ridiculous. People were ridiculous. Our stories were ridiculous! But for some reason people believed them . I glanced back over at Báine and I couldn't help but feel happy in that moment. I had been a long time since I had had a conversation with someone that was this... this easy, this simple. And although I don't trust Báine with my life or anything drastic like that yet, I did have a good first impression of him. Lets just say that I didn't hate his guts on first glance, which was kind of a big deal for me, and so maybe, just maybe, I could see the two of us becoming alleys. Friends even.

Ok, let's not push it Cue. You've only just met the guy for Mims sakes!

How come I have never seen you around before?" Báine asked.

"We'll, I have never really been one to 'hang out' this this crowd" I answered, using my thumb to deftly point behind me at the large wooden table we were all previously seated at. "I kind of just keep to myself and all that jazz."

Báine nodded thoughtfully, "A private life? I can respect that. All of this 'spirit' business can get a bit overwhelming at times I guess."

"Yep" I said slowly, popping the 'p' of the word.

"Listen, can I ask you something Cue?" I turned to look at him in the eyes, my expression unsure and curious at the same time.

"...sure." I answered tentatively, not sure if I was liking where this conversation was heading.

But before He could ask, a small Elf gently pulled on material of his trousers, handing him as slip of paper as he did so. "I'm sorry, I have to go, North has requested my presence on his workroom." He smiled apologetically at me but I waved my have to shake it off. "Don't worry about it" I said, offering a small smile in return.

"It was very nice to finally meet you Cue, I'm glad the stories were wrong. About both of us." I nodded curtly "You too Báine" I said softly and watched as he turned and followed the Elf out of the Globe room.

Sighing, I turned my attention back to the window.

"We'll, I thought he'd never leave" a cheery sounding voice from behind me began. "I thought I was going to have to do a whole lot more than bribe and Elf to get him out of here!"

I turned and looked Jack in the eyes, an eyebrow raised as if to say 'seriously?'. Me merely shrugged white smirking, then grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me to a standing position.

"Hey, what the, Jack what are you doing!" I posted, trying to shake him off. He let me go once I was on my feel, a triumphant and cocky smirk plastered on his face.

"Come on" he said simply, opening the window. "Jack? What are you doing?" I asked studying the ay he pocked the locks open on the giant windows, then threw it open.

"Well, I for one have been going stir crazy in this workshop all day, and from the way you were sitting the gazing longingly out of the window, I take it you were as well, so. Come. On." He punctuated the last words purposely, his signature grin never laving his face.

"We are going to go for a fly?" I asked excitedly, my eyes lighting up at the prospect of stretching my wings out in the freedom of the nights sky. Of course I have been going stir crazy, but I honestly didn't expect Jack to offer this to me. "Wait. You are letting me outside?" I asked.

Jack rolled his eyes and leaned casually against his staff. "Well you are not a prisoner Cue, plus you promised me you would stay for a week, and I make it you still have six days left until our deal is done." He winked at me before pulling a strange object out of his pocket. "Of course, if you do try to make a break for it, I'm sure I wouldn't object to the excuse of using these again."

Refusing to give him the satisfaction of blushing or taking the bait at his comment, and the way he twirled his fingers around the handcuffs, I strode passed him and leaped out of the window.

"You coming Jackass?" I shouted into the wind.

...

We landed about twenty minutes later on a branch of an old knurled looking tree that had long since seen any leaves. Both of us needed to catch our breaths. God it felt so good to be back in the air again!

The wood we sat on was cracked and weathered, but the trunk and the branches were thick and strong, more than capable of providing a safe seating area for Jack and I. Jack sat closest to the trunk, leaning up against the bark and leisurely stretched his legs out towards my own which dangling over the side of the branch, my elbows on my knees.

We simply sat for for a few minutes before either of us spoke, both of us silently content with simply gazing out at the lake below us and the multitude of stars that glistened overhead.

And so we simply sat.

I looked out over the treetops, my gaze captivated by the view. As far as the eye could see was a beautiful frozen forest, pine trees sprinkled with snow scattered out on all directions.

It was beautiful really, in that frozen simplistic kind of way. The way that everything around us was so clean, so white, so pure as snow... yet there way no life around for miles.

It always amazed me how a place so stunning could be as deadly as it was beautiful.

The landscape was stunning and so innocent looking, yet so harsh at the same time...

I glanced over at Jack, his head resting back against the trunk and his eyes closed. I took the moment to inspect his face more thoroughly. It was true what they said, Jack was attractive, there was no denying that. Not that I would ever tell him to his face or anything, his ego was in no need of refuelling. In fact I am certain that you could pump up car tires with the excess hot air inside his head, but there was no denying that he was good looking. His face looked younger when his eyes were closed, his features relaxed looking and unburdened, his forehead void of frowns and his jaw relaxed as he leaned least rly against the tree trunk. If I didn't know any better I would have sworn he was sleeping, but the smirk that appeared on his lips told me otherwise.

"Stop staring at me." Jack mused, his eyes still closed.

"I wasn't staring at yo-"

"Yes you were." He interjected, his tone light and playful. "But hey, you're only human, i guess you cant help it if you like what you see." He crossed his arms over his chest with a slight shrug for good measure, his staff lying casually alongside his hip.

I scoffed at him, trying to hide the genuine smile on my face. I didn't need another thing he could tease me about with his apparent psychic ability.

"Beautiful." I breathed, turning my gaze back to the landscape in front of me, not daring to speak above a whisper as if my voice itself would somehow break the serenity and peace around us.

"I know I am." Jack mused again, but this time he opened his eyes, light with mischief and gazed out at the horizon, meeting my line of sight. Far away a bird of prey circled overhead, before descending into the treetops, hidden once again, it's beautiful and lonely song the only reminder that it was there at all.

"I meant the view Jackass" I mumbled, Jack only smirked slightly in response, apparently not satisfied with my answer.

Trying to follow where the bird flew, my eyes glanced down searching the tree tops before they rested on the clearing below us, the icy pond below strikingly familiar.

"What was it like?" I asked, the words leaving my mouth before I even had a chance to process what I was saying.

"Hmmm?" Jack responded, his eyes closed once again, as if he was trying to drift off to sleep in the stillness of the moment.

I waved my hand at him, "nothing, doesn't matter." I mumbled, feeling slightly embarrassed about my question. Jack merely smiled, his eyes opening and meeting mine yet again. "What was what like?" He pressed, his smile warm and reassuring.

I tilted my head towards the pond below, my eyes refusing to meet his as I spoke. "You know... Dying I guess. Drowning. Becoming... Well, Jack Freaking Frost!" I scoffed, but the curiosity behind my words couldn't be missed.

Jack looked like he was deep in thought for a moment, before he mimicked my position on the tree branch, scooting closer to me and swinging his legs over the branch, letting them dangle towards the ground.

"We'll, I guess it was allot like how you died. How anyone dies really." He shrugged nonchalantly. "Except colder" he smirked, but frowned when he took in my serious expression. He sighed deeply before he continued.

"To be honest, I only remember fragments. First there was the cold, then the dark, and then... well, by then I didn't remember anything. Not who I was, who I had been, who my family was, anything... Tooth said that we all lose our memories at some stage, whether it be from age, trauma, who knows, but they can never be truly lost, more like misplaced for the time being..." He glanced down at his hands in his lap, content on fighting with this thumbs while he spoke.

"For all those years I believed that I would never know who I was, what I was meant to do. I thought that I would be alone. Forever. With no real understanding of anything..." His voice seemed to trail off for a moment, as if he was reliving the painful memories inside his mind.

"But you did get your memories back." I whispered, trying to jog him out of his trance. A small smile crept into the corner of his mouth, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Aye, I just needed reminding they were still there. Reminding of who I was, who my family was..."

His voice trailed off, a frown knitting his eyebrows together as he gazed up at the twinkling lights overhead, his thoughts drifting with them.

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eyes, trying to subtly understand what was going through his mind.

"I never knew you had a family..." I said, then instantly felt stupid. Of course he had a family, he wasn't always Jack Frost, his human self, his ALIVE self, must of had all the pleasantries of any other human.

A confused smile crossed my lips. It was funny how your forgot about the guardians being human at one stage, not just Jack.

...well except Bunny that is, I guess he has always been a bunny, but the rest, at some point, were just-

Normal.

Normal?

No powers, no gifts, no joy and wonder and dreams and fun...

No Guardians.

"Yeh, everyone has a family." He replied, continuing to inspect the bright stars above him.

I looked down at my hands. "...not everyone" I whispered under my breath, more to myself than to Jack. But by the way his head turned towards me, and the way his eyes tried to hold my gaze, I guess he had heard me...

I tried to change the subject.

"What were they like?" I asked, intrigued.

Jacks eyes lingered on mine for a few more moments than really necessary, his expression unreadable before he let out a silent laugh, his eyes gazing out towards the horizon once more. "I had a mother, a sister and a father. Much like any other family really..." Jack stated, a small ounce of pride in his voice.

"My mother was wonderful, as was my sister, as kindhearted and as trusting as anyone I had ever met. God knows how they put up with me..." Jack chuckled, before his mood took a somber note. "My father died before I reached my tenth year, just after my sister was born..."

Jacks voice cracked suddenly, and before I could even register what was happening, my hand shot out and grasped his own on his lap, squeezing slightly in a silent reassurance.

"It's ok Jack, we can put the past away if you want..." I suggested, not wanting his memories to hurt him further. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No it's ok." Jack reassured, squeezing my hand back just a little bit, attempting a smile. "I think I want you to know." He smiled softly, intertwining our fingers on our clasped hands.

"My father would tell my mother that without her his life would have no meaning, that he would never let her go, never let any of us go..." he cleared his throat, his voice cracking slightly once more. I tried my best at an encouraging smile, lightly squeezing his hand with my own.

" Like I said, my father died, and so with him went the provider of our family. It was poor times and my mother tried the best she could with what little we had to make my sisters life and mine the best it could be. She became both parents. She carried on just for us and although i knew that she was heart broken inside, she would never let us see it. She was always strong for us. She was strong because of us. God, she was amazing.

And then there was my sister..." Jack smiled slightly, but it didn't reach his eyes. "As trusting and as kind as the best person you would ever wish to meet. Cutting a long story short... she is the reason that I'm a guardian. She's the reason that I'm, well 'alive' right now,as a spirit anyway... We were playing out on the pond. It was dangerous and stupid...but I just couldn't help myself."

Jacks eyes widened slightly at the memory, his hands clenched slightly and his breathing became increasingly more rapid. This was upsetting him, but for some reason, he wanted to tell me, he wanted to trust me with the biggest and most important secret he had.

To be honest I felt too honoured and humbled by such a thing that I didn't even think to ask why. No one had ever trusted me as much a I felt trusted in this one moment.

"...and then when the ice began to crack" Jack continued, his voice raw and raspy. "I could only think of her, of the danger I had put her in, and how I would never forgive myself if anything happened to her because of me. So I pushed her, and I... Well, I...fell..." He trailed off and silence took over for a few minutes. The only sound was the whistling of the wind through the trees and Jacks rabid breaths returning t o normal.

"... You saved her life." I whispered. It was more of a statement rather than a question. Jack simply nodded once. "It was my fault." He whispered, his voice so low that I badly even heard it.

Jack turned slowly, looking me dead in the eyes, holding my gaze with his big blue ones. "I may have been able to let her live... But she lived to grow up in a world where I had killed her brother. No child should have to go through that. So really which is worse Cue? She may have been the one to leave breathing that day, but from every day since her breaths were burdened with the thoughts that I died trying to save her. That I died because of her..."

I sat there for what felt like hours, simply staring back at him. I honestly didn't know what to say. I had never been overly good with situations such as these, situations that involve consoling another person. I always felt awkward and powerless to help them, and here I was again, equally speechless, and utterly confused with what words would help Jack to understand.

Jack was hurting, and I didn't know how to fix it.

And so I did what I do when I am physically hurt.

I metaphorically punched the other arm.

You know like what you do if you hurt one arm, you punch the other so that the wounds balance out, so that your attention is taken away from the old arm pain and focuses on the lesser new one, until eventually you feel no pain in both of them at all. Or is that just me?

And so I tried to divert Jack's pain, to focus on something else until old pain had subsided.

"I never had any parents." I began, subconsciously tightening my grip around his hand, as if this simple gesture would give me enough strength to tell the tale I had not spoken aloud to anyone in over three hundred years.

"We'll, I mean, I must of had some at some stage, considering the fact I was born in the first place, but ever since I can remember, it's been just me.

I remember being eight years old, I was living on the streets of London at the time. I guess that's why I live there now to be honest, that although allot of crap happened there, it's still the one place I know the best, it's still the one place I have known the longest." I sighed, remembering al too well the small, scraggly eight year old child, abandoned at birth, wandering the streets for food and answers.

Jack gave me a small sympathetic smile, his shoulder pressed up against mine, his cool skin seeping into mine through our shirts.

"I'll save you the sob story of poor little orphaned me for a more cheery day, preferably one with more alcohol" I teased, doing what I do best. Deflecting situations I don't like with my sarcasm.

I made way to stand up, but Jack tugged me back down, our hands never heaving each others. His eyes bore into mine and I had only just noticed how close our bodies were, mere inches from being nose to nose.

When he spoke, his voice was low and quick, as if he were telling me a secret, or expecting me to return the favour.

"Why do you fear it so much?" His face was dead serious, but his eyes looked caring and soft, his voice curious and sympathetic.

I didn't like where this conversation was going. "I'm not afraid of anything. I fear nothing." I said, detaching my gaze from his, trying to put my defences back up.

"Everyone fears something Cue."

"We'll I guess I'm not everyone then" I replied stubbornly, my jaw tightening slightly, my eyes still refusing to meet his.

"I know what scares you the most." He said, his voice still sympathetic, but this time a hint of cockiness could be heard, as of he was proud of himself for being able to read me like a book.

Jackass.

"Then pray tell, Jack, since you so obviously know me so much better than I know myself, what is it I fear most of all?" I challenged, my eyes narrowing at him slightly.

"Not belonging" he deadpanned.

My eyes widened slightly at his bluntness, before my face fell a little. Jack didn't fail to notice. Whatever chord he had struck, he knew he had hit some sort of nail on the head.

I took a deep breath.

"Actually Jack, it isnt not belonging that scares me..."

Here it was.

I could feel the words forming in my throat, the truth threatening to seep out, to break through all the defences I had taken years trying to build until they were impenetrable. And here I was, in a fucking TREE, in the dead of night with Jack Frost, with my secrets and my past on the verge of exploding.

A small part of me still argued that it was a bad idea, a very bad idea to open up to something, after everything that's happened in my life before. But then a larger part of me was just saying 'sod it and tell him',

... And so I did.

"Its not the fact that i wont ever belong...It's the fact that there is a possibility that, even for a second, even for one fleeting moment one day. I might.

I might be part of something that changes everything, part of something that actually gives me a reason to get up in the morning. Part of something that makes me smile from simply thinking about it, or laugh for no apparent reason. Part of something that makes me feel...feel..." I struggled for a word.

"Needed." Jack whispered.

"Wanted." I agreed.

"...And so, if that something ever gets taken away..." I swallowed then amended my statement. "When that something gets taken away..." I corrected. "How do you ever convince yourself that it will all be fine. How do you ever convince yourself to go back to how things were before..."

I could feel tears threatening to spill, but I fought them down. When I spoke next, my voice did not sound like my own. It sounded so much smaller, so much more fragile.

"... I think I'd rather live without imagining what that's like, instead of remembering the feeling, knowing I can never have it again...

Maybe that's selfish, maybe that's cowardly, or brave or smart, who knows? But if there's one thing I do, it's being alone. In the only state where everything hurts, but no one can ever harm you..."

I expected Jack to make some witty retort, to try and brighten up the mood of the conversation and make some teasing remark or some sarcastic joke that would shatter the awkward silence I was regretting that would surely come.

But he didn't.

It surprised me actually, the way Jack held my gaze with his own. The way he untangled the fingers of his left hand from my own and slowly brought the backer of his hand up to brush solidly against me cheek. What surprised me even more was when his fingers began to trail along my jaw slowly, his calloused fingers surprisingly soft as they brushed feather light against my lips, down the column of my neck, before entangling themselves in the hair at the back of my neck. What surprised me most of all was when he leaned in while pulling me forwards, our noses skimming each others slightly, causing my breath to catch in my throat at our proximity.

"I will never harm you..." He breathed, his words dancing across my lips, merely an inch away, making them tingle slightly in response and anticipation. I mentally slapped myself for such behaviour. Proximity to a cute boy should not be an excuse for your brain to leak out of your ears Cue!

Fighting to keep my self control intact, I griped the arm that held the back of my neck slightly, effectively preventing Jack from drawing me any further in.

"You say that now. But one day you will." I said in a small voice.

"You might not intend too, you might not even mean to when you do but that doesn't matter. Everyone hurts you eventually. You just can never give them a chance to. And so I never give them a chance to. Because I know that along the lines they will hurt me, they will betray me or worse... Not hurting me is apparently a big enough challenge that no one has ever succeeded in. And something no one will ever succeed in..."

For a moment Jacks eyes fell, his expression one of sadness and disappointment. But the his features changed slightly, until a look of pure determination and sincerity graced his features.

His grip on the back of my neck tightened. He just wasn't going to take no as a bloody answer was he!

When his mouth was only a hairs breath away from my own he whispered,

"Challenge accepted." His voice taking on a growl like quality.

Then all of a sudden his mouth was on mine, hard and unyielding. His left hand fisted in my hair while his right untangled gently from our intertwined fingers and ghosted up my side before gently cupping my cheek. His lips were cool and soft against my own, but strong and persistent at the same time. I could feel the way his mouth moved against my bottom lip what he was trying to convey in a way that words could not. His mouth was reassuring, cementing the truth in the words he had already spoken, and trying to emphasis the fact that this was not a lie, his actions, his words, his thoughts. All of the emotions he was pouring into the kiss were not fake, and in a state absolute shock and happiness, I found myself kissing him back.

And I let go.

I pressed my lips further into his, earning a muffled groan to be head from Jack, clearly surprised and grateful at my eventual response to his lips on mine. With a sudden new found confidence, my hands trailed up his chest, skimming along the fabric of his hoodie and gripping tightly at the material that clung to his collarbone. In this moment, this one moment I wanted to forget the feeling of being unloved, of being unwanted. I wanted to forget about the Guardians and Pitch and the ever increasing pressure i felt i was constantly under. i wanted to forget my past and everything around me except this moment. i wanted to forget the fact i have not trusted another person in over three hundred years. And although this feeling of happiness, of belonging would probably last no longer than ten minutes, I felt myself give in to it as I kissed Jack with more vigour.

When I felt Jack's tongue graze my lower lip, then nip at it impatiently, I opened my mouth, effectively deepening the kiss and allowing Jack to have full access and roam my mouth with his tongue, granting his request. Something he wasted no time in doing might I add. Trying to suppress the moan that escaped me was futile, the feeling of his cool tongue against mine enough to snap my last thread of self control as I leaned into him further, our chests pressing together slightly as we scooted closer to each other on the tree branch.

Now I'm not gonna lie. It wasn't the most comfortable kissing position one could think of. Considering we had probably been sitting in this tree for well over an hour now anyway, the bark from the branch had begun to dig into my bum and legs, effectively giving me pins and needles as well. Even though our chests were touching, the fact that we had our legs dangling over the branch made it that from the wrist down we were facing forwards, and so from our waists up our bodies were awkwardly twisted so that they pressed together.

All in all, not the best Tuesday night snog-fest one would hope for!

I made way to pull back from Jack's lips, to try and readjust to a more comfortable position on the tree branch, but his groaning answer of "Cue, don't" at my attempts to break the kiss caused me to laugh against his lips. Gently I untangled his hand from my hair, gave him one last peck on the cheek when I noticed the pout he had on his face, and leaned back slightly, giving us both needed room to recover our breathing. Once my heart rate had slowed to around normal I dared to look up into Jacks eyes. The brightness of his smile could have rivalled that of the moon of this particularly stray night and I couldn't help myself but give him a shy smile of of my own.

His hand re entangled itself around the hair at the nape of my neck, his body leaning closer again. Just as he was about to lean in and reconnect our lips once more, his head shot up and his eyebrows furrowed. Panic began to build inside me.

Did he regret it?

Oh god, he regretted it didn't he?

Was he going to leave?

God I was such an idiot for ever thinking someone like him would genuinely care about someone like me!

...But that's when I noticed what he was doing.

He was sniffing.

Curiosity taking hold of me I began to lightly sniff the air around us also. And that's when the distinctive smell assaulted my nostrils.

Smoke.

"What's happening?" I half whispered to Jack, trying not to break the concentration on his face, but deep down I already knew what was happening.

Out in the midden of nowhere, surrounded by miles upon miles of frozen wasteland with no signs of civilisation anywhere, there was only one place that was a source of enough wood to create the smell of smoke this strong.

We both looked up towards the sky at the same time, our eyes widening when they confirmed what our nostrils already guessed. There, on the horizon, with deep black smoke billowing towards us was the orange glow of something burning.

"The workshop" I breathed at the same time Jack swore very loudly and leaped off the branch into the ominous night sky.

**Thanks for reading guys! Please review :) like I said before, I am not giving up on this story but I can't promice a new chapter every week so please be patient with me! :) also I typed this on my phone so there may be a few typos or autocorrections so please forgive me! :) **


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